Try and Try Again: Qualitative Insights into Adolescent Smoking Experimentation and Notions of Addiction

Issue addressed: Addiction is a relatively unexplored issue in youth tobacco control. Increasingly, there is recognition of addiction experiences in regular and irregular teenage smokers. Research was undertaken on behalf of the Smarter than Smoking (STS) project to probe young people's reasons...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Health promotion journal of Australia 2010-12, Vol.21 (3), p.208-214
Main Authors: Leavy, Justine, Wood, Lisa, Phillips, Fiona, Rosenberg, Michael
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acceptability
Addiction
addiction trialists
Adolescent
Adolescent Behavior
Adolescents
Attitudes
Australia
Female
Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
Health promotion
Humans
Male
Perception
Prevention
Risk
Smoking
Smoking - psychology
Socioeconomic status
Substance use
Teenagers
Tobacco use
Tobacco Use Disorder - psychology
Torres Strait Islanders
Trials
Western Australia
Young people
Youth
youth smoking
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Summary:Issue addressed: Addiction is a relatively unexplored issue in youth tobacco control. Increasingly, there is recognition of addiction experiences in regular and irregular teenage smokers. Research was undertaken on behalf of the Smarter than Smoking (STS) project to probe young people's reasons for smoking uptake, their attitudes towards the social acceptability of smoking, predictors of continued smoking after trial and understandings and perceptions of addiction. Methods: Twenty focus groups were conducted to collect qualitative data from young people (n=92) aged 13 to 15 years from metropolitan and regional areas of Western Australia (WA), from a variety of socioeconomic backgrounds, including young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Results: Of the young people spoken to, 20% smoked regularly, 40% had tried smoking and 40% had never tried. Acceptability and normalcy of trialling smoking was a recurring theme, with little perceived risk of trial leading to regular smoking or becoming addicted. Even non-smokers accepted 'just having a try' in the context of curiosity, life experiences and 'informed choice'. Conclusions: Preventing continuation after trial of smoking among young people needs to increase in importance, given the prevailing norms around 'trying it' and individual choice.
ISSN:1036-1073
2201-1617
DOI:10.1071/HE10208