The purpose of the present investigation was to survey beliefs on the aversiveness of environmental tobacco smoke held by smoking and nonsmoking college students. A few questions were also included on several closely related issues including the health hazards of smoking to smokers. Analysis was made of a thirty-one item section from a longer questionnaire that had been administered to sixty-one smoking and 246 nonsmoking college students at the University of New Hampshire. Although nonsmokers expressed a statistically significant degree of belief in most of the environmental smoke items there was considerable room for the beliefs to develop strength. In general smokers expressed slightly more skepticism or uncertainty. Both groups expressed quite strong levels of belief on a general statement on health hazards but considerably less strong belief on statements dealing with specific hazards. The question is raised whether most people really have an effective understanding of the health hazards.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Association for Non-Smokers' Rights, The Minnesota Clean Indoor Air Act and You, Association for Non-Smokers' Rights, Lung Associations of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minnesota, 1975.
2.
BrodyA. and BrodyB., The Legal Rights of Nonsmokers: A Concise Guide for Protection from Those Who Smoke, Avon, New York. 1977.
3.
CobeyC., The Resurgence and Validity of Antismoking Legislation (C.F.R. Title 49, Part 1061.1), University of California (Davis) Law Review, 7, pp. 167–195, 1974.
4.
DoggettK. M. and FriedmanD. J., Legislation for Clean Air: An Indoor Front, Yale Law Journal, 82: 5, pp. 1040–1054, 1973.
5.
GoldbergG. A., Legal Aspects of Nonsmokers' Rights or “If We Are Not for Ourselves, Then Who Will Be for Us?,”SteinfeldJ.GriffithsW.BallK., and TaylorR. M. (eds.), Health Consequences, Education, Cessation Activities, and Government Action. Volume II. Proceedings of the Third World Conference on Smoking and Health, New York, June 2–5, 1975, HEW Publication No. (NIH) 77-1413, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., pp. 363–374, 1977.
6.
SanfordM.GieserM. T., and CzesakK., Report on the Impact of the Berkeley Smoking Pollution Control Act of 1977 (Ordinance No. 4983-N), Wright Institute, Berkeley, California, June 1978.
7.
SchmidtR. W., Non-Smokers' Rights: The U.S. Experience, SteinfeldJ.GriffithsW.BallK., and TaylorR. M. (eds.), Health Consequences, Education, Cessation Activities, and Government Action. Volume II. Proceedings of the Third World Conference on Smoking and Health, New York, June 2–5 1975, HEW Publication No. (NIH) 77-1413, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., pp. 347–351, 1977.
8.
GouinC. L., Non-Smokers and Social Action, SteinfeldJ.GriffithsW.BallK., and TaylorR. M. (eds.), Health Consequences, Education, Cessation Activities, and Government Action. Volume II. Proceedings of the Third World Conference on Smoking and Health, New York, June 2–5, 1975, HEW Publication No. (NIH) 77-1413, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., pp. 353–356, 1977.
9.
HorowitzM. B., Nonsmokers' Rights: A Community Psychology Approach to Smoking Control, paper read at the 86th Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association, Toronto, Canada, August 28-September 1, 1978.
10.
BaerD. J., Smoking Attitude, Behavior, and Beliefs of College Males, Journal of Social Psychology, 68: 1, pp. 65–78, 1966.
11.
BrownC. N. and GunnA. D. G., Tobacco-Smoking in a University Community, Public Health, The Journal of the Society of Medical Officers of Health (London), 89: 5, pp. 199–205, 1975.
12.
DowneyA.M. and O'RourkeT. W., The Utilization of Attitudes and Beliefs as Indicators of Future Smoking Behavior, Journal of Drug Education, 6: 4, pp. 283–295, 1976.
13.
Gallup Opinion Index, Smoking in America, Public Attitudes and Behavior, Gallup Opinion Index, 155, pp. 1–30, June 1978.
14.
JohnsonR. E., Smoking and the Reduction of Cognitive Dissonance, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 9: 3, pp. 260–265, 1968.
15.
McKennellA. C. and ThomasR. K., Adults' and Adolescents' Smoking Habits and Attitudes, Government Social Survey, Her Majesty's Stationary Office, London, 1967.
16.
NollC. E., Health Professionals and the Problems of Smoking and Health. Report 2. Dentists' Behavior, Beliefs, and Attitudes Toward Smoking and Health, Report on National Opinion Research Center Survey 4001, University of Chicago, November 1969.
17.
NollC. E., Health Professionals and the Problems of Smoking and Health. Report 4. Pharmacists' Behavior, Beliefs, and Attitudes Toward Smoking and Health, Report on National Opinion Research Center Survey 4001, University of Chicago, November 1969.
18.
NollC. E., Health Professionals and the Problems of Smoking and Health. Report 5. Nurses' Behavior, Beliefs, and Attitudes Toward Smoking and Health, Report on National Opinion Research Center Survey 4001, University of Chicago, November 1969.
19.
SchorrB., Tobacco Industry is Worried by Findings of its Poll, Mistakenly Released by FTC, Wall Street Journal, 194: 80, p. 5, 1979.
20.
ScottB. T., Physicians' Attitude Survey: Doctors' Smoking and Drinking Habits, Medical Opinion, 3: 1, pp. 49, 51, 54, 1974.
21.
SchneiderF. W. and VanmastrigtL. A., Adolescent-Preadolescent Differences in Beliefs and Attitudes about Cigarette Smoking, Journal of Psychology, 87, pp. 71–81, 1974.
22.
U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare, Adult Use of Tobacco, 1975, Report with supplemental questionnaires and tables, U.S. Public Health Service, National Clearinghouse for Smoking and Health, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., June 1976.
23.
ShorR. E. and WilliamsD. C., Questionnaire on the Effects of Tobacco Smoking on Campus. Forms EL1 and NS1, Vector Associates, Durham, New Hampshire, 1978.
24.
ShorR. E. and WilliamsD. C., Normative Beliefs about Tobacco Smoke Pollution on Campus in Relation to an Exposition of the Viewpoint of the Nonsmoker's Rights Movement, Journal of Psychology, 100, pp. 261–274, 1978.
25.
ShorR. E. and WilliamsD. C., A Brief Survey of Beliefs about the Effects of Tobacco Smoke Pollution on Intellectual Performance in College Classrooms, Psychological Reports, 43, pp. 1047–1050, 1978.
26.
ShorR. E. and WilliamsD. C., Reported Physiological and Psychological Symptoms of Tobacco Smoke Pollution in Nonsmoking and Smoking College Students, Journal of Psychology, 101, pp. 203–218, 1979.
27.
American Lung Association, Second-Hand Smoke, American Lung Association Bulletin No. 0006, 1975.
28.
American Lung Association, Pipe and Cigar Smoking, American Lung Association Bulletin No. 0882, 1975.
29.
Office on Smoking and Health, Smoking and Health: A Report of the Surgeon General, U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare, Public Health Service, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health, Office on Smoking and Health, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., 1979.
30.
SteinfeldJ.GriffithsW.BallK., and TaylorR. M. (eds.), Health Consequences, Education, Cessation Activities, and Government Action. Volume II. Proceedings of the Third World Conference on Smoking and Health, New York, June 2–5, 1975, HEW Publication No. (NIH) 77-1413, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., 1977.
31.
U.S. Public Health Service, Smoking and Health Report of the Advisory Committee to the Surgeon General of the Public Health Service, U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare, Public Health Service Publication No. 1103, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., 1964.
32.
WagnerS., Cigarette Country: Tobacco in American History and Politics, Praeger, New York, 1971.
33.
PekkanenT. J.EloO., and HanninenM. L., Changes in Non-Smokers' Saliva Thiocyanate Levels After Being in a Tobacco Smoke-Filled Room, World Smoking and Health, 1: 1, pp. 37–39, 1976.
