Politics

The Nicotine Addict's Dilemma

By Anne Landman

A recent study in the Journal of Preventive Medicine found that young people who feel action should be taken against the tobacco industry are more likely to want to quit smoking.

To determine young people's attitudes toward the tobacco industry, researchers asked how strongly they agreed or disagreed with the following statements:

• "Taking a stand against smoking is important to me"
• "I want to be involved with efforts to get rid of cigarette smoking," and
• "I would like to see cigarette companies go out of business."

Compared to respondents who didn't support action against the tobacco industry, those who agreed with these statements were three times less likely to be smokers. Among current smokers, respondents who had a negative attitude towards the industry were over four times more likely to plan to quit, compared to smokers who didn't support action against the industry. The study was the first to link attitudes toward the tobacco industry to smoking behavior among young adults.

Given the new evidence that knowledge of the industry's dirty dealings can help people stop smoking, what better cessation aid than TobaccoWiki?

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Full post as published by PR Watch on May 15, 2009 (boomark / email).