Amos.A, ‘Perceptions of fashion images from youth magazines:does a cigarette make a difference?’, Health Education Research 13, (1998), 491-501.
Perceptions of fashion images from youth magazines: does a cigarette make a difference?
This is a really helpful journal about young peoples perceptions of magazine images that include cigarettes. An experiment was carried out to find out the difference in opinion between 2 identical sets of pictures, one set including cigarettes and the other without. Their findings are surprising and very interesting. The smoking pictures were rated as more ‘druggy, wild and depressed’ where as the exact same image without smoking were described as ‘healthy, rich, nice, fashionable, slim and attractive’. But these results were directly related to sex, social back ground and smoking status. This shows how by adding a cigarette, the teenagers views of the photo drastically altered. I find the unhealthy and dangerous description of smoking surprising and the article goes on to agree, commenting on youth magazines positive images of smoking and how it is these magazines are what younger people are looking for to find out what is in style in youth culture and find role models. . ‘Smoking is often used in these magazine spreads to capture a certain mood or image’ (Amos, 1992; Gray et al, 1997). It concludes by saying that there is a call for non smoking images that embody the desirable traits linked with smoking.
Quintero. G, Davis. S, ‘Why Do Teens Smoke? American Indian and Hispanic Adolescents' Perspectives on Functional Values and Addiction’, Medical Anthropology Quarterly 16, (2002), 439-457.
Why do teens smoke?
‘youths that the large majority of peers and adults use tobacco may well derive from the near-constant exposure youths experience to pro-tobacco messages and images, which make tobacco use seem common’ This statement fits with the argument that the media, including fashion is contributing to the smoking problem in teens. The article also blames peer and parental influences and the perception of smokers as, independent and rebellious. It can be argued that this view is created by product placement in films and fashion publicity.
Carter, OBJ, ‘Impact of smoking images in magazines on the smoking attitudes and intentions of youth: an experimental
Investigation’, Tobacco Control 16, (2007), 368-372.
Impact of smoking images in magazines on the smoking attitudes and intentions of youth: an experimental investigation
Again this journal comments that commonly smoking is viewed as, attractive, sophisticated, sexy and glamorous and that being exposed to these positive images of smoking will increase the likelihood of a young person smoking. The journal predicts that positive smoking connotations and imagery will, ‘lessen young smokers’ future intentions to quit; increase non-smokers’ future intentions to take up smoking; increase young people’s perceptions of the prevalence of smoking; increase young smokers’ urge to smoke while reading the magazine; and increase young smokers’ positive perceptions of the depicted models but decrease young non-smokers’ positive perceptions of the depicted models.’ This is a very interesting paper that completely backs up the view that magazines are promoting smoking. After a similar study to the one carried out in the ‘Perceptions of fashion images…’ journal, 3 times more non-smokers who viewed a smoking magazine said they would probably try smoking in the future than those who viewed the non-smoking magazine. This is a clear indication that, ‘Smoking imagery increases non-smokers’
intentions to smoke’. This can be linked into my initial question, ‘Does the fashion industry promote smoking?’
Clarkson, J P, Donovan, R J, Giles-Corti, B, Watson, N A, ‘Filthy or fashionable? Young people’s perceptions of smoking in the media’, Health Education Research 18, (2003), 554-567.
Filthy or fashionable? Young people’s perceptions of smoking in the media
This journal was written after a study of how 117 school students viewed images of smoking in the media. The results found that most of them saw it as ordinary, acceptable and overall ‘cool’. All the students were well aware of the health risks but most seemed to dismiss them. It shows how being bombarded with smoking images has made these young people see it as natural and a part of daily life. Nonchalant, is how the paper describes the teenagers attitudes to smoking. Its interesting how being exposed to something repeatedly or from a young age can create normality in it. We need to counteract this by perhaps trying to display more negative images of smoking in youth culture.
Edwards, C.A, Harris, W.C, Cook, D.R, Bedford, K.F, Zuo, Y, ‘Out of the Smokescreen: does an anti-smoking advertisement affect young women’s perception of smoking in movies and their intention to smoke?’, Tobacco Control 13, (2004), 277-282.
Out of the Smokescreen: does an anti-smoking advertisement affect young women’s perception of smoking in movies and their intention to smoke?
Since the banning of tobacco advertising, companies have had to think of new ways to target consumers. A key bracket they’ve been keen to attract is females between 12 and 17 and they have been using product placement in films aimed at these audiences. Interestingly there seems to have been a clear increase in the representation of smoking in film after the advertising ban. It has been found that girls whose favourite leading actors are seen smoking are more likely to look positively on smoking than those whose role models are not seen using cigarettes. These researchers conducted a study to see if showing an anti-smoking advert before a film that contained smoking would change the audience’s attitudes. ‘Pechmann and Shih18 showed that
without the presence of an anti-smoking advertisement movie viewers intention to smoke was enhanced by movies with smoking content. Screening the anti-smoking advertisement neutralised the effect of the smoking on intention to smoke in the Pechmann study, as suggested in our own’
study’. Apparently those who saw the ad were more likely to comment negatively when asked about the smoking in the film. I feel this shows that anti smoking campaigns can be effective. There is a lot of argument, saying that showing graphic images of health problems caused by smoking are not going to deter most people to take up or continue the habit. ‘there was a significantly higher percentage of current smokers who said they were unlikely to be smoking this time next year’. So this concludes that even if anti smoking campaigns wont stop smokers intentions to smoke they do counteract/cancel out the attractive qualities portrayed in film. This theory could also work with magazines, by printing an anti-smoking advert near an image of a model smoking.
Flay .B.R, ‘Differential Influence of Parental Smoking and Friends' Smoking on Adolescent Initiation and Escalation and Smoking’, Journal of Health and Social Behaviour 35, (1994), 248-265.
Differential Influence of Parental Smoking and Friends' Smoking on Adolescent Initiation and Escalation and Smoking
This time looking more into the influences towards teen smoking, other than the media. This journal argues that taking up smoking is influenced more by the behaviour of others, especially heath behaviours. Both parents and friends are big influences and the report comments that during teenage years bonds with peers grow stronger whilst those with parents weaken. It also comments that 'girls might be more susceptible to social influences'. Fashion and magazines target audience is women so including smoking could have more of an effect towards their intention to smoke.
