The Effect of Marketing Communication on the Initiation of Juvenile Smoking

Many different factors may influence smoking initiation by juveniles: these are incorporated in a model and their importance is considered. Individual factors that are most important are family and peers. Studies fail to demonstrate that advertising has any direct effect on smoking initiation, though this is not surprising as tobacco advertising is a fairly low-involvement activity for all but smokers or people who for some reason are predisposed to smoking. Any effects advertising may have are likely to be only indirect, and relate to the development of schemata and attitudes about smoking. These are likely to be minimal in relation to family and peer influences and will be very difficult to measure.