Exposure to Pro-smoking Media in College Students: Does Type of Media Channel Differentially Contribute to Smoking Risk?

Abstract

There are almost no data on whether the different channels through which pro-smoking media appear (i.e., point-of-sale advertising, movie smoking) differently influence smoking. This study used ecological momentary assessment to examine whether differences in smoking risk were observed for exposures to different pro-smoking media channels. College students (n = 134) carried smartphones for 21days, recording their exposures to pro-smoking media and the media channels for that exposure and responding to three randomly issued control prompts per day. Participants answered questions about their future smoking risk after each pro-smoking media exposure and random prompt. Participants had elevated future smoking risk following exposure to pro-smoking media at point of sale (p < 0.001); smoking risk at times of exposure to smoking in movies did not differ from risk measured during control prompts (p = 0.78). There is merit to examining the relative contribution of different pro-smoking media channels to smoking behavior.