Attitudes toward smoking and smoking rate: implications for smoking discouragement

Attitudes toward smoking were measured among nonsmokers and five levels of smokers (light to heavy). Of 13 attitude items, a relationship between attitudes and number of cigarettes smoked was found to exist in five, three of which dealt with smoking as a health risk. The results suggest that the more cigarettes a person smokes, the greater the likelihood of denial of the health hazards associated with smoking.