Public knowledge, awareness, and perceptions of the association between skin aging and smoking

Background: Although the tobacco industry promotes images of glamour, 2 dec ades of epidemiologic research have concluded the opposite: smokers have en hanced facial aging and skin wrinkling compared with nonsmokers. Objective: The purpose of this study was to obtain information on the publi c's awareness of the association between cigarette smoking and skin aging. Methods: In the spring of 1994, the Maine-wide Cooperative Telephone Sun ey conducted telephone interviews in 678 randomly selected, nonseasonal dwell ing units in Maine. From each dwelling unit, one randomly selected adult re sident was interviewed to assess awareness of the association of skin aging with smoking. Results: Fifty-eight percent of those persons interviewed had smoked at lea st 100 cigarettes, and among them, 24% were current smokers (28% men, 21% w omen). After adjusting for sex, age, and education, current smokers remaine d less likely to be aware of this association compared with former (prevale nce ratio, 0.78; 95% confidence interval, 0.64-0.95) and never smokers (pre valence ratio, 0.87; 95% confidence interval, 0.70-1.07). However, nearly o ne fourth of smokers in this study believed that most or some smokers would consider this information in their decision to quit, with slightly higher findings in young smokers. Conclusion: These findings are of public health importance. While strategie s for framing messages about the association between smoking and facial agi ng await further study, this association deserves to be considered in all t obacco control and counter-advertising campaigns.