Role of Tobacco Promotions on Smoking

Abstract

The major goal of the study was to examine the impact of tobacco promotions on smoking among African American college students. The study was conducted among undergraduate students (N=257) and incoming freshmen (N=287) in a Historically Black University. The variables in this study include gender, membership in athletic teams; membership in Greek organizations; staying in residence halls; tobacco promotion, cigarette smoking among family members; and cigarette smoking among close friends. Results of the logistic regression analyses indicate that predictors vary with the status of the students (undergraduates versus incoming freshmen) and nature of smoking (lifetime versus current smoking). The results of this study show that tobacco promotion is a statistically significant predictor of smoking among African American college students and that tobacco promotion has a more pronounced impact on current smoking than life-time smoking.