| dc.description.abstract | “Light” and “low tar” cigarettes have been designed by the tobacco industry to allay smokers’ concerns about the health risks of smoking. Few studies have examined which factors lead smokers to believe that “light” cigarettes are less harmful. In particular few studies have addressed whether the belief that “light” cigarettes are smoother predicts the belief that “light” cigarettes are less harmful. There is some evidence that this relation should exist especially given that the belief that “light” cigarettes are smoother has been used to market these cigarettes and there is a natural association between smoother and less harmful. I conducted 7 studies to examine various aspects of the relation between the sensory belief that “light,” “low
tar” or your own brand of cigarettes is smoother and the belief that “light,” “low tar” or your own brand of cigarettes is less harmful. Study 1 used Wave 1 to Wave longitudinal data from the International Tobacco Control Four Country Survey (ITC-4) to demonstrate that smokers in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia who believe that “light” cigarettes are smoother at Wave 1 are significantly more likely to believe that “light” cigarettes are less harmful at Wave 2 (p=0.002, OR=1.59 95% CI 1.19-2.12). Study 2 used Wave 1
cross-sectional data from the International Tobacco Control China Survey (ITC China) to demonstrate that smokers in China who believe that “light” and/or “low tar” cigarettes are smoother are significantly more likely to believe that “light” and/or “low tar” cigarettes are less
harmful (p<0.001, OR=62.86 95% CI 47.65-82.91). Study 3 used Wave 1-Wave 2 longitudinal data from the ITC China Survey to demonstrate that smokers in China who
believe that “light” and/or “low tar” cigarettes are smoother at Wave 1 are significantly more likely to believe that “light” and/or “low tar” cigarettes are less harmful at Wave 2 (p=0.02 OR=1.63 95% CI 1.10-2.43). Study 4 used Wave 3 cross-sectional data from the North American Student Smoking Survey (NASSS) to demonstrate that adolescent smokers in North America who believe that “light” cigarettes are smoother believe that “light” cigarettes are healthier (p<0.001 OR=3.96 95% CI 2.92-5.36), and in a separate model, that the belief that
“light” cigarettes are less harsh also predicts the belief that “light” cigarettes are healthier (p<0.001, OR=5.45 95% CI 4.34-6.84). Study 5 used Wave 3 to Wave 4 longitudinal data from the North American Student Smoking Survey (NASSS) to demonstrate that adolescent
smokers in North America who believe that “light” cigarettes are less harsh at Wave 3 predicts the belief that “light” cigarettes are healthier at Wave 4 (p=0.02, OR=1.72 95% CI 1.08-2.72). Studies 6 and 7 examined how the personalized belief that your own brand of cigarettes is smoother related to the belief that your own brand of cigarettes is less harmful. Study 6 used cross-sectional data from Wave 6 of the ITC Four Country Survey in Canada only. Study 6 demonstrated that smokers who believed that their own brand of cigarettes is smoother were significantly more likely to say that their brand of cigarettes is less harmful (p=0.004, OR=2.23 95% CI 1.29-3.86). Study 7 used cross-sectional data from Wave 2 of the ITC China Survey to demonstrate that smokers who believed that their own brand of cigarettes is smoother believed that their brand of cigarettes is less harmful (p<0.001, OR=5.10 95% CI 3.69-7.03). The
findings from this dissertation demonstrate the importance of implementing tobacco control policies that address cigarette design and marketing that provide the impression that a cigarette is smoother and therefore less harmful. | en |
