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Cigarette advertising and adolescent experimentation with smoking
M Klitzner1, P J Gruenewald, E Bamberger
1Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation, Air Rights Center, Bethesda, MD 20814.
British Journal of Addiction
|March 1, 1991
Summary
Cigarette advertising recognition is linked to adolescent smoking experimentation. Adolescents who recognized more advertised brands were more likely to have tried smoking, indicating advertising influences youth smoking.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Adolescent Psychology
- Tobacco Control
Background:
- The relationship between cigarette advertising and adolescent smoking is a long-standing debate.
- Previous research indicates correlations, but the directionality of effects remains unclear.
- Potential for reciprocal relationships between advertising exposure and smoking behavior exists.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the bidirectional relationship between cigarette advertising exposure and smoking experimentation in adolescents.
- To differentiate between advertising's influence on smoking and adolescents' selective exposure to advertisements.
Main Methods:
- Utilized environmental and psychological measures to assess advertising exposure.
- Examined the ability of adolescents to recognize advertised cigarette products.
- Correlated recognition of advertised brands with smoking experimentation history.
Main Results:
- Adolescents who had experimented with smoking demonstrated superior recognition of advertised cigarette products, suggesting selective exposure.
- A higher ability to recognize advertised brands was associated with an increased likelihood of smoking experimentation, indicating advertising's influence.
Conclusions:
- Findings suggest a dual effect: adolescents' smoking experimentation influences their recognition of cigarette advertising, and conversely, advertising exposure influences their likelihood to experiment.
- This research highlights the complex interplay between advertising and adolescent smoking initiation.
- Implications for public health strategies aimed at reducing youth smoking are significant.