Optimistic biases regarding the risks of smoking were examined among 200 ad
olescents (aged 12-17) and 203 adults (aged 30-50). Strong majorities of ad
olescent and adult smokers and nonsmokers agreed that smoking is addictive
and causes death for "most people" who smoke. However, for themselves perso
nally, adolescent and adult smokers were more likely than nonsmokers to dou
bt that they would die from smoking even if they smoked for 30 or 40 years.
Furthermore, 60% of adolescent and 48% of adult smokers believed that they
''could smoke for a few years and then quit" if they wished, figures far h
igher than for nonsmokers. Thus an optimistic bias regarding smoking risks
appears to be held by both adolescent and adult smokers, especially by adol
escents and especially regarding addiction. Implications for smoking preven
tion programs are discussed. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd.