Knowledge and beliefs regarding the consequences of cigarette smoking and their relationships to smoking status in a biracial sample.

Abstract

The purpose of this investigation was to evaluate carefully smoking-related knowledge and beliefs and their relationships to smoking status in a large, heterogeneous sample of smokers and nonsmokers in two settings: (a) a large, biracial southern city and (b) a small midwestern community. Participants were 611 (198 male, 413 female) adult respondents to a random-dialing telephone survey in Fargo, North Dakota (n = 200), and Memphis, Tennessee (n = 411). Each participant was given the Smoking Attitudes Survey, which assesses generalized health beliefs as well as health-related problems associated with smoking. Participants' knowledge of smoking-associated diseases (e.g., lung cancer) and of diseases not associated with smoking (e.g., kidney stones) was assessed. Stepwise regression analysis of composite knowledge scores revealed four independent predictors of the health consequences of smoking: education, race, smoking status, and income. Smokers, compared to nonsmokers, reported less knowledge related to the health consequences of smoking, were more likely to be male, were less concerned with the health consequences of smoking, and were more concerned about the health consequences of cholesterol. The best predictor of smokers who had never attempted cessation was their greater concern over weight control when compared to smokers with a history of smoking cessation attempts. The results are discussed in terms of smoking prevention and intervention efforts.

Knowledge and Beliefs about Smoking and Cancer among Women in Five European Countries

“…Current smokers tend to minimize the health risks of cigarette smoking, and were much more likely to disagree that quitting smoking decreases the risk of lung cancer. Similar results have been reported from several studies in Europe and the United States, and the majority of current smokers underestimate the risk of smokingrelated conditions, such as cancer and heart diseases (18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(27)(28)(29). Therefore, it is important that women need to learn that quitting smoking lowers their lung cancer risk, as compared with women who continue to smoke.…”

Smoking-related weight control expectancies among African American light smokers enrolled in a smoking cessation trial

“…Smoking for weight control has been associated with several variables including younger age, greater nicotine dependence, restrained eating (i.e., restricting eating in order to lose weight or prevent weight gain), and lower levels of self-efficacy to manage weight (Pinto et al, 1999). Although weight concern has been found to be a disincentive to cessation in several cross-sectional studies (Fletcher & Doll, 1969;Klesges, Somes et al, 1988;Loken, 1982;Ogden & Fox, 1994;Streater, Sargent, & Ward, 1989;Weekly, Klesges, & Reylea, 1992), prospective studies have yielded mixed results (French, Jeffery, Klesges, & Forster, 1995;Meyers et al, 1997;French et al, 1995;French, Jeffery, Pirie, & McBride, 1992;Jeffery, Boles, Strycker, & Glasgow, 1997;Jeffery, Hennrikus, Lando, Murray, & Liu, 2000).…”

Influences of Lifestyle Patterns on Diet

“…Klesges et al (1988) found that smokers were more concerned about the health consequences of cholesterol and weight control than non-smokers. However, Castro et al (1989) found no differences between smokers and non-smokers knowledge about stress, diet and smoking.…”

“…t~I • Klesges et al (1988) studied 611 males and females and found that predictors of knowledge about the' health consequence of smoking included:…”