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Forever cool: the influence of smoking imagery on young people

July 2008

Smoking remains the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the UK. Nearly one in four adults still smoke and many others continue to take up the habit. The vast majority of individuals start smoking before the age of 25. During this time, young people are exposed to a mix of personal, social and environmental influences that serve to normalise the habit and encourage the onset of smoking. These influences are reinforced by the positive images created by pervasive tobacco industry marketing and persistent media portrayals of smoking. Young people therefore represent a key target group for tobacco control policies.

Recent years have seen a number of encouraging developments including the introduction of smokefree legislation throughout the UK, an increase in the minimum age of sale of tobacco, and a continued decline in smoking prevalence rates among the general population. It is essential that in building on these successes, further action is taken to promote a tobacco-free lifestyle that both deglamourise and ‘denormalise’ its use.

This report considers the effect of smoking imagery on young people. It begins by examining trends in smoking prevalence and initiation, goes on to review the different forms of pro-smoking imagery and the evidence for how they can affect behaviours and attitudes among young people. It concludes by exploring effective ways of reducing young people’s exposure to positive images of smoking – and increasing their exposure to positive images of health.