Self-exempting beliefs about smoking and health: differences between smokers and ex-smokers.

Abstract

OBJECTIVES. The purpose of the present study was to examine the role of self-exempting or cognitive dissonance-reducing beliefs about smoking and health. Such beliefs may hold important implications for the content and targeting of health promotion campaigns. METHODS. A survey of smokers and ex-smokers was conducted in western Sydney, Australia. Six hypotheses were tested. RESULTS. The principal findings were (1) that 27.9% of smokers and 42.1% of ex-smokers agreed that smokers were more likely than non-smokers to get five smoking-related diseases; (2) that for 11 of 14 beliefs tested, more smokers than ex-smokers agreed to a statistically significant degree; (3) that the median number of such beliefs agreed to by smokers was five, compared with three for ex-smokers; (4) that for only 5 of 14 beliefs was agreement expressed by more precontemplative smokers than smokers contemplating or taking action to quit; (5) that more than one in four smokers, despite agreeing that smokers are more likely than non-smokers to get five diseases, nonetheless maintain a set of self-exempting beliefs. CONCLUSIONS. Fewer smokers than ex-smokers accept that smoking causes disease, and smokers also maintain more self-exempting beliefs. Becoming an ex-smoker appears to involve shedding such beliefs in addition to accepting information about the diseases caused by smoking.

Improving knowledge, attitudes and beliefs about acute coronary syndrome through an individualized educational intervention: A randomized controlled trial

“…However, those at high risk for a cardiac event can underestimate or reject their risk status and these individuals are often reticent to change their health behaviours [41][42][43][44]. Studies that examined the relationship between patients' perceived and actual risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) reported a tendency towards inappropriate optimism [44].…”

Informing population-specific smoking policy development for college campuses: An observational study

“…In order to develop targeted interventions, it is first important to understand the population of interest, this includes young adults on Canadian college campuses who are smokers and non-smokers 13 . Chapman and colleagues 13 found that when they compared smokers to non-smokers, smokers were more likely to report that they felt self-exempt from the potential harmful health effects associated with smoking.…”

“…Chapman and colleagues 13 found that when they compared smokers to non-smokers, smokers were more likely to report that they felt self-exempt from the potential harmful health effects associated with smoking. This implies that smokers and non-smokers have different perceptions and opinions on smoking related topics.…”

A Multilevel Model Analysis on the Determinants of Smoking Cessation Success Rates

“…음주문제가 없을수 록 금연성공률은 높다는 연구 (Zimmerman, Warheit, Ulbirch, & Auth, 1990)가 있다. 체중이 증가하면 금연에 성공할 가능 성이 높다는 연구 (Chapman, Wong, & Smith, 1993;Suh & You, 2003)가 있다. 그리고 신문매체 및 대중매체의 금연을 지지하는 여론이 금연시도 및 성공에 영향을 미치고 (Jamrozik, 2004), 금연광고를 통한 금연캠페인에 의해 흡연 을 중단한다는 연구 (Hu, Sung, & Keeler, 1995 을 사용하였다 (Raudenbush & Bryk, 2002 …”