Comparison of Adolescents’ Attitudes and Knowledge Regarding Regular and Light Cigarettes
| Statement on Regular Versus Light Cigarettes | Mean (SD)* | Percent of Participants Indicating | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Strongly Agree | Agree | Disagree | Strongly Disagree | Don’t Know | ||
| Delivery | ||||||
| Regular cigarettes deliver more tar | 2.04 (0.77) | 18.8 | 45.5 | 13.9 | 4.1 | 17.7 |
| Light cigarettes deliver less nicotine | 2.54 (0.87) | 6.9 | 33.1 | 23.8 | 11.9 | 24.2 |
| Health risks | ||||||
| Regular cigarettes are more likely to cause a heart attack | 2.60 (0.83) | 6.9 | 28.4 | 33.3 | 10.7 | 20.7 |
| Regular cigarettes are more likely to cause lung cancer | 2.57 (0.87) | 8.4 | 28.7 | 29.9 | 11.5 | 21.5 |
| Regular cigarettes are more likely to cause a bad cough | 2.66 (0.86) | 5.7 | 29.7 | 28.9 | 14.1 | 21.7 |
| Light cigarettes are more likely to cause trouble catching your breath | 2.90 (0.78) | 4.6 | 13.4 | 43.5 | 14.9 | 23.7 |
| Regular cigarettes are less likely to cause wrinkles on the face | 3.12 (0.83) | 4.5 | 8.0 | 36.0 | 25.8 | 25.8 |
| Perceived social benefits | ||||||
| Smoking light cigarettes looks cooler | 3.42 (0.74) | 2.7 | 5.4 | 32.2 | 47.7 | 12.0 |
| Smoking light cigarettes makes you thinner | 3.04 (0.83) | 4.2 | 8.8 | 33.5 | 20.0 | 33.5 |
| Smoking regular cigarettes is more likely to make you smell like an ashtray | 2.86 (0.89) | 6.8 | 20.5 | 36.4 | 22.3 | 14.0 |
| Smoking a regular cigarette makes you feel more relaxed | 2.84 (0.88) | 5.7 | 14.1 | 30.9 | 14.9 | 34.4 |
| Smoking light cigarettes looks more grown-up | 3.21 (0.81) | 4.2 | 8.3 | 37.9 | 34.8 | 14.8 |
| Cessation | ||||||
| It is easier to quit smoking light cigarettes | 2.71 (0.86) | 6.4 | 25.3 | 33.2 | 15.1 | 20.0 |
| Regular cigarettes are more addictive | 2.69 (0.90) | 6.9 | 28.7 | 28.0 | 17.2 | 19.2 |
↵* Response scale for this question: strongly agree (1), agree (2), disagree (3), strongly disagree (4). Participants could also indicate if they did not know.