The Problem of Adolescent Smoking

Home

Reasons to smoke or not to smoke

Marketing of smoking

Short-term Effects of smoking

Long-term Effects of smoking

Prevention of smoking

Behavior Modifications for smokers

References

Bibliography

Related Links

Why People Choose to Smoke or Not to Smoke

Reasons People Choose to Smoke:

Regardless of how much knowledge an individual has about the health risks of smoking, people still choose to smoke. So why is that? Research suggests that no matter how unique each individual may be, there are quite a few similarities as to why they may choose to smoke.

Studies show that most smokers either have started or will start in their adolescent years, which is from the age of about 13 on into your early 20s. This trend of smoking in the adolescent years is now on the rise. Smoking is seen by adolescents to be less serious than illegal drug use despite the fact that it is considered deviant by the general population. Research suggests that among teenagers, the habit of smoking is also related to other deviant behaviors such as alcohol, marijuana, and other drugs. Researchers believe that this deviant, unhealthy habit is picked up primarily from the peer groups these adolescents are a part of (Akers, 1996). So, even though we don't like to hear mom tell us not to hang out with certain groups of people, we should really listen because she is up-to-date on the latest research findings!

Some people tend to believe that the majority of smokers are male. However, that is not the case. There is an almost equal amount of male and female smokers, but the difference is in why these two groups choose to start smoking.

Females: Tend to start smoking not for the effects of the nicotine, but for the social interaction that smoking tends to attract (Bower, 1997). Female smokers often choose to smoke because of the misconception that it will help them loose weight. When actually once the female stops smoking she may gain weight quickly.

Males: Tend to start smoking in part to cope with social anxieties, such as fitting in, looking cool, or to appear tough, but generally acquire the taste for tobacco quicker than females (Bower, 1997).

Research also suggests that adolescents with greater exposure to television will be at a greater risk to begin smoking in their teenage years. This increase in teenage smoking comes despite increased bans on tobacco advertising (Gidwani, 2002).

Reasons People Choose not to Smoke/Quit Smoking:

Those individuals who choose not to start smoking have also been studied in order to find the reasoning behind their choices not to smoke.

	Research has supported that students' school performance is a key factor in predicting smoking status; the older the teen, the less likely they are to successfully quit smoking if currently a smoker; below-average students are less likely to successfully quit smoking if currently a smoker (Hu, 1998).
	One study suggests that the increase cost due to tax increase on tobacco products has influenced not only teenagers, but adults as well, to kick the habit. In a study of the reactions of adult and teenaged smokers to the Massachusetts tobacco tax, 21% of teenagers had considered quitting and 26% had cut costs spent on tobacco (Biener, 1998).

Healthcare providers strongly support the parents' involvement in their kids' education, health and well-being, peer involvement, and extracurricular activities, as well as be an adequate roll model for their children. They feel this can be a strong motivation for a teenager to avoid health risks like smoking.

Adolescent Smoking

This website created as a research project at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte School of Nursing by:

Erica Canty, Rachel Caldwell, Amy Daniel, Carolyn Jennings, Lisa Whitley, and Natalie Withrow.
Last updated: 04/22/03.