By Joene Hendry
WESTPORT, CT (Reuters Health) – Nearly all of the smokers in a recent survey responded that they are informed about the health risks of smoking, but survey results suggest that adult smokers have a wide range of misperceptions about smoking risks.
"Smokers have an optimism bias about smoking and a pessimism bias about nicotine replacement," Dr. Gary Giovino, of Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, New York told Reuters Health.
Almost one third of the smokers said smoking 5 cigarettes a day presents the same risk for developing cancer as not smoking, and 53% believed that nicotine causes cancer. Yet 94% of these respondents said they are adequately informed of the health risks of smoking, Dr. Giovino added.
Dr. Giovino and colleagues analyzed data from a nationally representative sampling of 1046 smokers in the United States. The subjects, who were between 18 and 89 years old (median age of 40 years), responded to a 25-minute telephone survey conducted between May and September 2001. The survey response rate was 77%.
Lead researcher Dr. Michael Cummings, also of Roswell Park Cancer Institute, presented the findings on Wednesday during the 2001 National Conference on Tobacco or Health in New Orleans.
A significant number of respondents believed that cigarettes are less dangerous when filtered (60%), when tar is reduced (58%), or when additives are removed (50%). The researchers noted that most respondents were not aware of filter fallout.
When asked, "Do nicotine medications work by making you physically sick if you smoke cigarettes?" Dr. Giovino noted that 42% of respondents answered "yes" while 27% did not know. "About one in five said nicotine medications completely eliminate the urge to smoke," Dr. Giovino added, "which, of course, they do not."
He noted that "nicotine replacement therapy needs improved advertising, so the general public better understands how it works and its safety." Only 35% of the smokers believed that nicotine patches are less likely to cause a heart attack than smoking cigarettes.
Dr. Giovino told Reuters Health that 27% of the respondents do not believe they are at greater risk of developing lung cancer than any one else in their age group. These findings show that "there is more work to be done," he added, as "even adult smokers need to learn that every cigarette hurts."
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