Analysis of Coverage of Tobacco Hazards in Women's Magazines

Abstract

c A ming-related diseases in the United States alone. These facts come as no surprise to professionals in the field of public health. But they may not be as well known to the general public. Magazines are an important source of health information for the layman. Yet, as R. C. Smith suggested in a 1978 article in the ColumbiaJournalism Review, coverage of this particular health topic, the hazards of smoking, is very limited in most magazines. The exceptions to this general rule have been a few magazines which do not accept cigarette advertising. In recent years, there has been a significant increase in the number of women who smoke, especially young women who start smoking in their early adolescent years. This trend is reflected in current cancer statistics, which show an alarming increase in smoking-related cancers, particularly lung cancer, among women. In addition women have special cigaretterelated health hazards. Smokers have an earlier menopause than nonsmokers. Oral contraceptive users who smoke face special health risks. And, according to the 1979 Surgeon General's report, Smoking and Health, "the risk of spontaneous abortion, of fetal death, and of neonatal death increases directly with increasing levels of maternal smoking during pregnancy." Smokers also give birth to premature infants and low birth-weight infants more frequently than nonsmokers. The American Council on Science and Health (ACSH) has selected smoking and women's health as a primary focus of concern. The coverage of the hazards of smoking in twelve major women's magazines was re-