Teen Anti-Smoking Research - Essay Example

This paper outlines a proposal to study stop-smoking efforts among junior high school students at two institutions in California's Central Valley (note to student: you may want to change the location to one that is more relevant to where you are-but the rest of the paper should not have to be changed). The percentage of teens who call themselves frequent smokers has declined to about 14% (2001) from 17% (1999) (Society, American Cancer, 2002). Despite this encouraging drop, the number of teens who say that they have tried smoking still rests at 64%, although down from over 70% in the 1990's (Society, American Cancer, 2002).

The hypothesis of this proposed study is that the greatest leverage on smoking will come from cessation and peer-pressure efforts in junior high school, at which point teens may be likely to be making their decision to become smokers on a regular basis. This hypothesis is supported by NEA data: According to the 1999 National Youth Tobacco Survey conducted jointly by the American Legacy Foundation and the CDC Foundation, cigarette use among middle school students was 9.2 percent, and more than a quarter of high school students were smokers (NEAToday, 2006).

This study proposes to study the motivations behind teen's starting smoking in middle school, and what makes them decide to continue once they have tried smo. The reason for this split is the suggestion from previous research that African American students are less likely to start smoking than their White or Latin American peers (Kelder SH, 2003). There is a suggestion that White and Hispanic students' rates of smoking by the eighth grade is 2 to 4 times greater than that for African American students of the same age, although the rate of trial in the sixth grade is roughly equal for all three groups (Kelder SH, 2003).

This study therefore seeks to understand the motivations behind (1) trying smoking, and (2) becoming addicted to smoking. Given that the rate of trial to addiction in high school is roughly 17/64, or 26%, the rate of trial to addiction in middle school may be the same or similar to this group's older counterparts. The study will therefore encompass three areas of study in order to understand the phenomenon in a better way:1. Comparing the motivators behind trying smoking amongst the three ethnic groups.

The primary tool for social research will be interviews of a meaningful number of students (n=60), with about 20 students per group.2.Establishing through a search of the literature what programs are tried in the area in order to help stop teen trial and addiction to smoking.3.Present the advertisements to the three groups in order to determine their reaction to the messages contained. In addition to the anti-smoking ads, the author intends to show pro-smoking advertisements for adults, and advertisements not related to smoking to teens, in order to judge their reactions and normalize their reactions to all advertising.

In conclusion, this author believes that, although smoking is declining somewhat, it would be important to understand the