Perceptions of fashion images from youth magazines: does a cigarette make a difference?

This paper reports the findings of the first study which has investigated y oung people's perceptions of non-advertising smoking images in youth magazi nes. A self-completion questionnaire was administered to a total of 897 peo ple from three age groups (12-13, 15-16 and 18-19 years). Respondents rated perfectly matched (other than the presence/absence of a cigarette) smoking and non-smoking pictures taken from youth and style magazines on a range o f attributes. They also rated their self, ideal and socially desirable imag es on the same attributes. It was found that the presence of a cigarette af fected how the pictures were rated and that the nature of this effect diffe red between pictures. In general, smoking images were rated as being more d ruggy, wild and depressed, In contrast the matched non-smoking images were rated as being more healthy, rich, nice, fashionable, slim and attractive. Smokers and non-smokers differentially rated themselves in the same way tha t they differentiated between smokers and non-smokers in the photographs. I t is argued that these magazine images of smoking may be acting to reinforc e smoking among young people.