Study: Tobacco ads lead more teens to smoke

By Staff Writer

A new study reveals that tobacco advertisements significantly influence teenagers, prompting the authors to call for a ban on cigarette ads.

The report, which will appear in the February issue of Pediatrics, concludes that many adolescents start having favorable thoughts about smoking after seeing advertisements for tobacco products. Researchers studied 2,100 students between the ages 10 and 17, with each child shown 12 ads with branding removed - six for cigarettes and six for other products, including candy, cars and cell phones.

Within nine months of viewing the ads, 13 percent of the kids who had seen the tobacco ads started smoking. Those adolescents who saw the most tobacco ads were 46 percent more likely to start smoking cigarettes than participants who saw no tobacco ads.

The study stated that advertising campaigns for tobacco products exploit themes that are meaningful to teens, such as thinness for girls, masculinity for boys and social acceptance. Cheryl Heaton, president and CEO of the American Legacy Foundation, said that tobacco companies spend more than $30 million per day in advertising in the U.S., and most companies rely on young smokers to stay in business.

Aside from the health dangers caused by tobacco, problem teens who smoke may also be heading toward other delinquent behaviors. According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information, early smokers are more likely than nonsmokers to experience various behavioral problems by grade 12.