Chapter 8 - Broadening the Focus of Smoking Prevention Strategies

Abstract

This chapter presents broader and more comprehensive smoking prevention strategies that deal with cigarette smoking within a larger psychosocial, environmental, and developmental context. In general, the psychosocial factors are believed to be involved in promoting the initiation of cigarette smoking among youth. The development of effective smoking prevention strategies logically presupposes an understanding of the determinants of childhood and adolescent smoking behavior and the process through which individuals become regular cigarette smokers. A considerable amount of data that currently exists links cigarette smoking with a diversity of factors. However, no well-designed prospective study identifying the factors promoting cigarette smoking and the irrelative importance has been published yet. Hence, evidence must be gathered from many different studies, some of which may have methodological shortcomings, and inferences must be made and conclusions drawn concerning why individuals begin to smoke. Many factors emerge with enough frequency to provide fairly strong evidence concerning their role in the initiation of cigarette smoking.