Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: Public opinion regarding cigarette smoking in the United States has undergone significant changes in the last few decades. Majority opinion among Americans has shifted toward a more negative view of smoking. This change represents a key achievement for the field of public health and has been widely viewed as instrumental to the steady reductions in smoking prevalence nationwide.

Despite this success, a minority of individuals still hold favorable views of smoking or have inaccurate perceptions and knowledge of the health risks associated with tobacco use. This paper examines the results of the 2002 Arizona Adult Tobacco Survey (ATS) in an effort to build an understanding of the sources of these misperceptions.

The survey, based on modifications of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s Behavioral Risk Factor Survey, is a comprehensive assessment of respondents’ knowledge, opinions and behaviors related to tobacco use. The 2002 ATS is the third in a series of statewide RDD telephone surveys performed every three years since 1996 to assess the impact of Arizona’s tobacco control program. The 2002 fielding represents the largest sample of the three versions of the Arizona ATS, with over 6,000 individuals completing the survey between April and July of 2002.

This paper approaches the research questions surrounding respondents’ tobacco knowledge and opinions by first examining the 2002 results within the context of the data collected in 1996 and 1999. From there, the focus moves specifically to the 2002 survey data, upon which predictors of misperceptions are identified. The investigation examines individuals’ exposure to tobacco-related media and characteristics of their smoking behavior (among several other factors) as potential predictors of health-related knowledge and opinions regarding tobacco. Further directions for future survey research in this area and implications for public health are also presented.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Cigarettes appeal to many adolescents because they “signal” the possession of hard-to-observe, desirable attributes such as maturity and toughness. To directly counteract cigarette advertisements, which are responsible for the positive images associated with cigarettes, a “negative signaling strategy” is proposed; i.e., potential smokers and potential quitters should be informed that smoking cigarettes signals the possession of hard-to-observe, undesirable attributes. I propose several such undesirable attributes, but focus on low intelligence. In a sample of U.S. adolescents aged 12 to 16 in 1997, a conservative estimate places the mean IQ of daily smokers 10 percentiles lower than that of those who have never smoked. The relationship is strongest for non-Hispanic Whites; the mean IQ of White daily smokers is approximately 18 percentiles lower than that of their White peers who have never smoked. The mere dissemination of these facts may discourage smoking.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: This study investigates the link between exposure to cigarette promotion and adolescent susceptibility to smoking. Using a structural equation modeling, the direct, indirect and total effect of exposure to and participation in cigarette promotion was assessed. The data used for this study were collected through a self-administered survey of 12,290 7th through 12th grade students in Tucson, Arizona in 1996 and 1998. Results show that participation in cigarette promotion has a direct effect on increased smoking susceptibility controlling for personal and behavioral factors. It also has a significant indirect effect on susceptibility via positive social images. This study supports the concerns that cigarette promotion contributes to the long-term process of accepting and internalizing positive images of smoking and to the eventual uptake of smoking among adolescents. As such, a more comprehensive restriction on cigarette promotion is warranted.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: This project attempts to explain levels of public support for increases in state cigarette taxes. Existing models of policy making expect that support for policy proposals is at least somewhat linked to expectations of the efficacy of the policy. At a minimum, this project tests that hypothesis by addressing the link between support for a cigarette tax increase and expectations that such an increase will reduce smoking. However, cigarette taxes are not merely public health regulations. They are also public finance tools, and can serve as a reliable revenue stream for a state government. The second question this project thus addresses is: does support for a cigarette tax increase diminish, even amongst those who expect the tax to reduce smoking, if the revenue is to be used for the general fund (rather than, say, a public health or anti-smoking program)? In other words, do cigarette taxes have to be justified as public health policies in order to secure public support, or are expectations of effectiveness in reducing smoking sufficient? Data for the project have already been collected, via a survey of 1,950 adults in the state of Iowa, conducted in 2006.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Reducing smoking rates in the U.S. to approximately 23% of the population is a great success story for public health, but public health has focused insufficiently on young adults, particularly those not attending college. Recent survey data from Baltimore, reveal that in some inner-city communities, over half of the young adults (18-24 years old) smoke cigarettes. This paper explores the community level factors contributing to high smoking rates among young adults in Baltimore. Our analysis is based on focus group data from a one-year community based participatory research project with two job training organizations (Urban Youth Corps and Youth Build in Sandtown-Winchester). We present data from four focus groups with 28 program participants (23 smokers and 5 non-smokers). Our analysis focuses on two emergent themes. First, the importance that participants placed on sharing cigarettes and smoking together, and second, the impact of ubiquitous loose cigarette vendors within the community on cigarette acquisition. We conclude that there are community-specific factors that specifically undermine existing tobacco prevention efforts at the policy level. Policy planning needs to include a consideration of the impact of community structures on implementation, in order to reduce health disparities caused by smoking, instead of facilitating widening the gap.