Children's opinions on whether or not cigarette advertisements should be banned

Abstract

INDIVIDUAL interviews were conducted with 726 Glasgow children aged between six and 17 years. About 80 per cent of the children of primary school age favoured a ban on cigarette advertising, giving concern about health as the major reason for this. The proportion of children of secondary school age who favoured a ban decreased from 68 per cent among the 12- and 13-year-olds, to 44 percent among the 16- and 17-year-olds. Secondary school children tended to mention health concerns and the persuasive function of advertising when giving reasons for a ban. Smokers and children who said they would smoke when they were older tended to be less in favour of a ban on cigarette advertising. These findings, taken in conjunction with other research findings, suggest that cigarette advertising may have predisposing as well as reinforcing effects on children's smoking behaviour.