Research

Teens’ experiences of and attitudes towards addiction and smoking cessation
A study published in Health Education Research conducted qualitative interviews of 16 to 19 year old friendship pairs to explore their understanding of their smoking and attitudes towards quitting and cessation support. Most regarded themselves as smokers but few thought they were addicted. Many were interested in quitting but this was not a priority. Perceived barriers to quitting related primarily to habitual and social aspects of dependence including friends' smoking, the smoking culture at work or college, stress and boredom. Few were interested in nicotine replacement therapy or cessation services, which they felt belonged to the world of older addicted smokers. The most effective quitting strategy was thought to be will-power. The authors conclude that traditional cessation services are therefore in their current form unlikely to appeal to older adolescents and that services aimed at this age group need to be grounded in their understandings of smoking and the social factors which support smoking. Click here to view the abstract.

Impact of home smoking rules on smoking patterns among adolescents and young adults
An article in the April issue of Preventing Chronic Disease found that household smoking rules are a type of anti-tobacco socialization that help deter adolescents from smoking. The influence of household smoking rules seems to extend beyond adolescence into the young adult years among people who continue to live at home with their parents, grandparents, or foster parents. Click here fore more information on the study.

Adolescents intensely react to fear messages
According to research conducted by the Missouri School of Journalism’s Psychological Research on Information and Media Effects Lab, adolescents react more intensely and emotionally than young adults to anti-tobacco commercials that contain vivid images depicting damage to the lungs caused by smoking. Click here for more information.

Variable affecting self-reported exposure to pro-tobacco messaging
The Spring 2006 issue of Social Marketing Quarterly contains an article on the use of the National Youth Tobacco Survey to test whether race/ethnicity, gender, and grade influence self-reported exposure to pro-tobacco messages among youth. Click here to view abstract.

Impact of anti-industry ads on high-risk teens
A study reported in the February 2006 issue of Health Education Research shows that anti-industry messages are a promising strategy for preventing smoking among both high- and low-risk adolescents. Click here to view abstract.

Evaluation of antismoking ads finds those focusing on youth suffering works
A study published in a recent issue of the American Journal of Public Health found that ads focusing on young victims suffering from serious tobacco-related diseases elicited disgust, enhanced anti-industry motivation, and reduced intent to smoke among all conduct-disordered adolescents. Ads showing counterindustry and industry ads did not significantly lower smoking intention. Authors of the study advise campaign sponsors to first pilot test ads before airing. Click here for more information.

Newspaper coverage of youth tobacco issues
An article in the March 2006 issue of Health Communication examines messages being conveyed to the public and policymakers through coverage of tobacco issues focused on youth. Data illustrate that the approach is newsworthy but suggest that youth-focused issues garner little commentary coverage. Click here to view the abstract.

Influence of friends, family, and older peers on smoking among elementary school students
An article in the March 2006 issue of Preventive Medicine found that low-risk students in grades 6 and 7 are at significantly greater risk of smoking if they attend an elementary school with a high prevalence of smoking among senior students. Click here to view the article.

Retail tobacco outlet density and youth cigarette smoking
An article in the March 2006 issue of the American Journal of Public Health found that retail tobacco outlets were disproportionately located in neighborhoods characterized by social and economic disadvantage. In addition, youths in areas at the highest 75th percentile in retail tobacco outlet density were 13% more likely to have smoked in the past month compared with those living at the lowest 25th percentile. Click here to view the abstract.

Effect of retailer inspections on sales of tobacco to youth
An evaluation of Indiana's Tobacco Retailer Inspection Program found that randomly selected retail outlet inspections are associated with increased sales restrictions to youth. The researchers conclude that strong tobacco sales regulations and enforcement will reduce illegal sales of tobacco products to minors. Click here to view the abstract.

Development of smoking media literacy scale for adolescents
A study conducted by the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and published in the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine indicates that teens who view ads and other forms of media in a more analytic fashion would be less likely to smoke than those who do not. The researchers developed a smoking media literacy scale that measured teens’ ability to analyze and evaluate messages as well as the motivations and tactics behind ads and other mass media portrayals of tobacco. Click here for more information.

Peer influence, images of smokers, and beliefs about smoking among preadolescent nonsmokers
An article in the May issue of Social Development, examined whether perceived peer influence is related to the image of a typical smoker among preteen nonsmokers, and whether this image is associated with beliefs about the effects of smoking. The researchers found that perceived peer influence was related to the image of a typical smoker, whereas the image was related only to the beliefs about harm caused by smoking. Click here to view the abstract.

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Smoke Free Movies launches ad campaign
Smoke Free Movies, a project of the University of California, San Francisco, has started a series of print advertisements in the Daily Variety and other print publications. The ads target major movie studios and their use of smoking characters in their PG-13 films. To view the ad, click on See the ad at this link.

ANR announces new Young Adult section on website
Americans for Nonsmokers' Rights announced a new "Young Adult" page to the "Target Populations" sections of its web site. The web page provides resources, key industry documents, and action items.

NCI bulletin on flavored cigarettes
A bulletin from the National Cancer Institute on the use of flavored cigarettes to lure young smokers is available here.

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Canadian website exposes retailers who sell tobacco to minors
A region in Canada is now posting the names and locations of retail outlets that have been found guilty in the last six months of selling tobacco to a person under 19. The site is part of a comprehensive strategy intended to deter retailers from selling tobacco to youth. Click here for additional information. To view the latest update of retailers who have been convicted of selling tobacco to a person under 19 in the last six months, go directly to the website here.

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Kick Butts Day recognized throughout the country
Youth around the country stood up to tobacco on April 5th in recognition of Kick Butts Day. Sponsored by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, the day is an annual celebration and focuses on youth leadership and activism in the fight against tobacco use. More than 2,000 events took place in all fifty states. The theme for this year’s activities was the recognition of the number 1,200, which is the number of Americans who die every year from diseases caused by smoking and exposure to secondhand smoke. Click here for more information.

CVS implements procedures to reduce sales of tobacco to minors
CVS Corporation has reached an agreement with 42 states and the District of Columbia to implement procedures that will reduce the sales of tobacco to minors. Under the agreement, CVS will check the identity of any person who looks younger than 27 attempting to buy tobacco products, will no longer use self-service displays or vending machines to sell tobacco products, and will train its employees on state and local laws regulating tobacco sales. An independent monitor must also be hired to check compliance at 5,400 CVS stores nationwide. The agreement is similar to settlements reached by state authorities with other retailers such as 7-Eleven, Wal-Mart and Walgreens. Click here for more information.

Morph photos help teens stop smoking
Cancer experts with the Roswell Park Cancer Institute found a unique way to get teens to think about the future effects of smoking. The computer program morphs the teens’ photo to show how they will look 40 years from now if they continue to smoke. Click here for more information.

SAMHSA data shows decreases in youth tobacco use
According to the Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), past month tobacco use declined in the United States between 2002-2003 and 2003-2004 for persons 12 or older, from 30.1 to 29.5 percent. The only states with increases were California and Kansas. Click here for more information.

College students smoking hookahs in increasing numbers
Whereas hookahs used to be viewed as exotic delivery systems for marijuana and hashish, college students are smoking them more often, viewing them as a healthier alternative to smoking cigarettes because they indulge less frequently. Click here for additional information.

Disney challenged on Marlboro connection and smoking in its youth-rated movies
A full-page ad in Variety taken out by the University of California-San Francisco’s Smoke Free Movies project challenges Disney's tobacco record and its 2004 pledge to reduce tobacco on screen. According to Stan Glantz, director of the project and medical professor at UCSF, Disney has one of the worst tobacco records in Hollywood, shares Philip Morris USA's ad agency, and fails to stem smoking in kid-rated films from its Touchstone and Miramax units. Click here for more information.

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Alabama:
 
Alabama youth campaign to make city restaurants smoke-free
The Youth Empowerment Program, a part of Alabama’s Partnership for a Drug-Free Community, has assembled a group of teen advocates to push for smoke-free restaurants in Madison, Alabama. The program is sponsored by a grant from the state Department of Health. Click here for more information. (free registration required)

Florida:
 
University of Miami sponsors unique awareness program for youth
The University of Miami Department of Medical Education is sponsoring a tobacco awareness program for community youth called, “They’re Rich, You’re Dead.” The program includes allowing youth to witness what the doctors witness in terms of the suffering and early death caused by tobacco use. The program also informs youth that tobacco companies have manipulated them through ads and promotions, even though they have known for over 40 years that their product is highly addictive and lethal. Click here for more information.

Indiana:
 
Sale of tobacco to minors down in Indiana
Indiana’s Tobacco Retailer Inspection Program found that the rate of retailers selling cigarettes to minors decreased from 40% in 2000 to just over 12% in 2004. Click here to view a press release from Indiana Tobacco Prevention and Cessation.

Iowa:
 
Iowa youth demonstrate cost of tobacco
Just Eliminate Lies (JEL) was the theme of a two-day youth summit in Iowa, where the focus was on the importance of increasing Iowa’s tobacco tax and the impact of tobacco use on Iowans. At a local shopping mall, 1,200 shoes were displayed to signify how many American die every day from smoking. For more information click here.

Mississippi:
 
Mississippi students warned about flavored tobacco
Sandra Shelson, executive director of The Partnership for a Healthy Mississippi, recently explained to more than 300 students at Central Elementary School how the tobacco industry is using their love of sweets to lure them into using tobacco products. A partnership mascot, Terrance the Rat, told the kids that tobacco companies must get new customers to replace the ones who die. Click here for more information.

Montana:
 
Montana employee recognized for refusing to sell tobacco to a minor
Caught “doing the right thing,” Shannon Roberts, an employee of Kum & Company in Havre, Montana, received a $100 gift certificate. Her name was drawn by the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services from a pool of clerks. The program, “Reward and Reminder,” promotes compliance with the state’s youth access to tobacco law. Click here for more information.

New York:
 
NYC high school students smoking less
According to data obtained from a joint survey done by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and the New York City Department of Education, smoking rates among high school teenagers has declined 36% (from 18% to 11%) since 2001 and 52% (from 23% to 11%) since 1997. The decrease in teenage smokers correlates with a decline in adult smokers and is attributed to both an increase in the cigarette sales tax, health education and awareness programs and the Smoke Free Air Act. The citywide survey of public high school students showed that 1 in 3 white students smoke, compared with 1 in 10 Hispanic students, and 1 in 15 black students. The survey also found that Staten Island's teens are far more likely to smoke than youth in the other boroughs of New York City. The full report is available online here.
 
Staten Island youth create films to prevent smoking
A group of students in Staten Island were recently honored by a local hospital for four short films they created that show how cigarettes can affect smokers and the people around them. Click here for more information.

North Carolina:
 
North Carolina teens smoking less
The 2005 North Carolina Youth Tobacco Survey shows that teen smoking in the state has declined by a third since 1999. According to the survey, the high school smoking rate was 20.3 percent in 2005, down from 27.3 percent in 2003, and the middle school smoking rate was 5.8 percent in 2005, down from 9.3 percent in 2003. This translates into about 27,000 fewer high school and middle school smokers. These findings may be a result of a recent increase in the cigarette tax from $0.05 to $0.30 per pack. Click here to view a press release from the North Carolina Health and Wellness Trust Fund.
 
North Carolina mock legislature debates tobacco bill
At the annual Youth Legislature Assembly, a three-day event held in Raleigh, North Carolina, attendees had to the opportunity to conduct a mock debate on bills related to a variety of issues, including tobacco use. The event is in its 36th year and is sponsored by the state Youth Advocacy and Involvement. Click here for more information.
 
North Carolina students voice opinions regarding school board smoking policy
Peer educators from North Pitt High School in North Caroline performed a demonstration during a county Board of Education meeting in order to encourage the adoption of a tobacco-free schools policy. Click here for more information on the demonstration.

Ohio:
 
Ohio youths speak out against tobacco
Teen members of the Perry County, Ohio “Keeping Our Kids Away from Tobacco” (KOKAT) Coalition hoped to go national with their message recently after winning a trip to New York City from a competition organized by the anti-tobacco group called PROJECT SUSO (Stand Up, Speak Out). Click here for more information.

Pennsylvania:
 
Pennsylvania high schools’ anti-tobacco ads to be aired on MTV
Students from Gwynedd Mercy Academy and Norristown High School will see their 30-second tobacco prevention commercials on MTV this year. The ads are aimed at educating the public on the dangers of tobacco use and the manipulation tactics used by the tobacco industry. Click here for more information.

Washington:
 
National conference on teen smoking held in Seattle
More than 200 national tobacco prevention leaders gathered in Seattle last week for Access 2006, a national conference convened to create innovative and effective new strategies to reduce youth access to tobacco products. Among the key insights coming out of the conference was an intriguing one: current anti-smoking messaging could have the unintended consequence of increasing underage youths' interest in smoking. Click here for more information.

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