Fifth-Graders Mistakenly View Cigarette Smoking as Normal Adult Habit, University of South Florida Study Shows

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TAMPA, Fla., March 18, 1996. By the time they are preteens, children tend to view smoking cigarettes as a normal adult habit even though most adults do not smoke, a study by researchers at the University of South Florida College of Public Health found.

"We found, both among kids who smoke and those who do not, a strong perception that smoking is a typical adult practice," said Robert McDermott, Ph.D., chairperson of the USF Department of Community and Family Health. "Yet, fewer than 30 percent of people over age 18 smoke."

The finding suggests that tobacco advertising and television shows or movies in which a disproportionate share of adults smoke may inaccurately color children's perceptions about the normalcy of smoking, he said.

Dr. McDermott and his colleagues surveyed 813 fifth-grade students in west central Florida. The survey examined the students' attitudes about tobacco use as well as other high-risk behaviors.

Most of those surveyed were ages 10 to 12. Of the 813 participants, 6.5 percent, or 53, were current smokers meaning they had smoked at least one day in the last month. Seventeen percent (138) reported "ever smoking" a cigarette, and more than 8 percent (67) expected to try smoking in the next year.

"By age 10 or 11 those kids who smoke are already making a commitment toward the social acceptability of smoking," Dr. McDermott said. "Research has demonstrated adolescent smokers are more likely than nonsmokers to drink, experiment with drugs, engage in unsafe sex, carry weapons and become involved in other high-risk behaviors."

The findings included:

-- 72 percent of the fifth-graders who smoked and 74 percent of the nonsmokers agreed most adults smoke.
-- The children who smoked were more likely than the nonsmokers to perceive that most peers have at least tried cigarettes.
-- Smokers were 11 times more likely than nonsmokers to agree with the statement "A few years from now, when I am in high school, smoking cigarettes will be O.K."
-- 85 percent of nonsmoking fifth-graders agreed there is relationship between smoking and other substance use and school performance. Only 56 percent of their nonsmoking peers perceived a link.

The study was funded through the Florida Health Information Center at the USF College of Public Health.

CONTACT: Anne DeLotto Baier, USF Health Sciences, 813-974-3300