Smoking Preference Investigation Draft 1

This topic submitted by Michelle Bennett, Sandy Buban, Chelsea Kaiser, Katie Pell ( bennetml@muohio.edu ) on 10/8/03 .

Natural Systems 1 Syllabus---Western Program---Miami University

SMOKING PREFERENCE INVESTIGATION

Introduction
Does student smoking preference correlate with environmental concern? The purpose of the lab is to explore student behavior in relation to their outlook. Specifically, it would determine if smoking or other basic demographic factors determine Miami studentsÕ stance on environmental issues. It seems reasonable to hypothesize that if a student smokes, then his or her environmental concern will be less than that of a non-smoker.
Smoking obviously is an issue among western students, as evident by chalk lines delineating the smoke free zones surrounding buildings. Since Western houses environmental science majors, it seems logical that its residents would display this sort of dedication to the earth and not pollute the air, or their bodies, with smoke. However, smokers are often seen huddling near building entrances on campus. Our curiosity was sparked. Were the environmentalists a different sect of people than the smokers? Were there inconsistencies between their views and actions? We would survey students about their environmental concern and basic demographic information and divide responses according to smoking preference. By researching current environmental issues, we were able to formulate questions that addressed these topics. After analyzing any apparent correlations and testing for significance, our results would show if the environment was truly important to those who contributed to its contamination. We also hoped to find distinctions between Western campus and Main, family trends, or intensity of the practice. The information gathered would be relevant to the Miami community. It could provide insight to students about their effects on the earth. The experiment could better define our home and what it represents.
Relevance and Research
Studies on smoking, its impact on the environment, and environmental concern related to our investigation. Research has shown that many smokers started in their youth, most likely before they analyzed their impact on the global and local community. Therefore, the practice may have developed separately from environmentalism, lacking correlation. The Journal of Adolescent Health reported an investigation done on connections between individual smoking experimentation and peer smoking in adolescents. The experiment sampled 2525 students in grades seven through twelve, questioning best friend smoking, peer network smoking, and schol smoking prevalence. The data concluded that adolescent smoking was higher if a best friend smoked, over half of a peer network smoked, and the school had a higher smoking prevalence (Alexander, Piazza, Mekos, & Valente, 2001). Therefore, popularity and peers seemed to affect smoking choice. According to a separate investigation, being white, weak academic orientation, prosmoking attitudes, and less parental support also put middle school students at risk to begin smoking (Tucker, Ellickson, & Klein, 2003). A study by AmericaÕs Children 2000 targeted smoking behavior among varying racial and ethnic groups. The study concluded, ÒWhite students have the highest rates of smoking, followed by Hispanics and then blacksÓ (Johnston, OÕMalley, & Bachman, 1999). The Journal of Health and Social Behavior suggested that adolescent smoking directly related to parental smoking as well (Foshee & Bauman, 1992).
Although both genders may begin smoking at a young age, studies suggested motives differed in males and females. Preventive Medicine presented a study, which determined how personal issues, social conformity, and rebelliousness influenced student smoking. Conclusively, ÒMale and female students differ in how stress, depression, and smoking are related in the presence of psychosocial factorsÓ (Koval, Pederson, Mills, McGrady, & Carvajal, 2000). Health Education Research embellished upon these results. The article examined the motives for teenage girls to begin smoking. Reputation enhancement and coping strategies were an obvious lure to those who smoke (Snow & Bruce, 2003). Jeanie Lerche Davis supported these findings in her article for WebMD. She proposed that the pressures to be thin, find a boyfriend, and fit in with the crowd drove teenage girls to experiment with smoking. They would use smoking to socially conform and mask their anxieties (2001).
Whatever the cause, underage smoking is of increasing concern in society. The American Lung Association composed data relating to teen smoking trends. Use of tobacco typically began by age 16. Over 4,800 teens smoked for the first time each day, Ò2,000 of these will become regular smokers Ð thatÕs 730,000 annuallyÓ (ÒAmerican Lung Association fact sheet,Ó 2002). Currently, approximately 4.5 million adolescents are smokers. In addition, the article reasoned that cigarette advertisements correlated smoking with youthful energy, sexual attraction, and independence, therefore enticing teens to smoke. Peers and siblings were also a forceful influence on tobacco use (ÒAmerican Lung Association fact sheet,Ó 2002).
Can the trend be reversed? Certainly, teens would not be convinced that social image, stress, and peer relationships were negligible. Nor would the majority choose to quit because of their environmental concern. However, The Review of Economics and Statistics reported that education has a strong correlation to quitting behavior. A solid educational foundation seemed to have a positive effect on the number of young adults, ages 25 and older, that eventually quit smoking. Perhaps an increased knowledge of personal health and environmental awareness was responsible for these conclusions (Sander, 1995).
However, smoking affects more than simply the individual who participates in such behavior. An article in Ethics investigated the effect of smoking on non-smoking individuals, including health concerns and civil rights (Goodin, 1989). Startling facts supported that second hand smoke is a lethal concern. According to the American Lung Association, second hand smoke put 20% of the nationÕs population is at risk for developing lung disease. In addition, spouses of smokers were twice as likely to develop lung cancer as spouses of non-smokers were and had a 30% greater chance of developing heart disease. The Federal Environmental Protection Agency emphasized these hazards when they, Òclassified second-hand smoke as a Group A carcinogen. This category includes only the most dangerous cancer causing substanceÓ (Rowley, 1997). Experimental data from Science, further supported the dangers of passive smoke by exploring the concentration of air pollution from indoor smoking (Repace & Lowrey, 1980). Since urban residents spent approximately 90% of their time indoors, concentrations of poisonous chemicals was of paramount concern. Second hand smoke was one of the main causes of indoor air pollution (Spengler & Sexton, 1983).
Due to its dangerous traits, smoking is of concern to environmentalists. The depletion of EarthÕs natural resources as a whole is an impending danger upon the global community. A limited supply of wildlife, fossil fuels, land, trees, water, and air emphasize the necessity to preserve such resources. Certainly, the pollution from smoking only causes increased distress on the planet (Van Esch, 2000). Delegates voiced concerns about smoking during the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development. Officials discussed the environmental impact and health affects of smoking, as well as cultural use. The session concluded that anti-smoking campaigns were needed to battle common smoking stereotypes. In addition, smoking hindered the economies of developing nations, further hampering the global community (Yoon, 2002).
As a result, smoking hampered both the individual smoker and the surrounding environment. Since prior research demonstrated that adolescent smoking resulted from social and intrapersonal pressures, it seemed logical to infer that environmental concern was not a significant matter with teenage smokers when they began the habit. However, their peers, family members, and other social environments influenced the studentsÕ choices. In addition, the smokersÕ personal development and education should make them more environmentally conscious, causing them to question their pollution. The large proportion of adolescent smokers caused environmentalists to analyze global affects. Smoking polluted the outdoor atmosphere, but its danger indoors was of primary concern. The hazards of second hand smoke were vast, relating environmental impact directly to smoking trends, yet another reason for individuals to rethink their decision to smoke.
By conducting this experiment, we hope to investigate smoking trends to clarify characteristics of the global community. By researching why students began smoking and why they continue to poison the environment, we may be able to deduce preventative conclusions. By understanding smokersÕ motives, society can better form solutions to their addiction problems and find ways to benefit the environment. Overall, this study also explores human compassion and concern for the environment that supports our lives. We can only hope that empathy will dominate over apathy, before it is too late.
Materials and Methods

To conduct our experiment we will be using basic materials, since our experimental design is survey based rather than observation based. We will be using survey sheets to be filed out by the people we are gathering data from, data sheets which will be used to compile our data, and computer programs to analyze our results. Instead of measuring something physically, we are measuring peopleÕs smoking (or non-smoking) habits and how they correlate to environmental concern. Therefore, our experimental techniques will be easily controlled because we do not have to worry about unanticipated mistakes or changes. We will simply be gathering information that already exists (i.e. peopleÕs smoking habits and their present environmental awareness) and will use this data to either confirm or contest our original hypothesis.
Survey
The following survey is an exact replica of the half-page piece of paper we will be handing out to the people we interview.

The following questions, which consist of basic demographic information, will be used as data in an experiment we are conducting. Please answer truthfully and do not include your name.
1. Gender: F M
2. Grade: 1st 2nd 3rd 4th
3. Campus: Main Western
4. What is your major?______________________________________________
5. Do you smoke? Yes No
If so, please rank yourself from 1-5, 5 being heavy smoker, 3 casual smoker, and 1 only smoked a few times. 1 2 3 4 5
Please answer the following questions quickly, based on your first instinct. You will need to rate yourself on each question: 5 meaning very concerned/aware and 1 meaning no concern/interest.
1. How concerned are you about the pollution increase affecting the environment?
no concern 1 2 3 4 5 very concerned
2. How concerned are you about the use of alternate energy sources?
donÕt care 1 2 3 4 5 care very much
3. Do you agree or disagree that more money should be spent annually on conservation?
disagree 1 2 3 4 5 agree
4. Do you recycle?
never 1 2 3 4 5 always
5. Do you take action against certain environmental issues?
never 1 2 3 4 5 always

Research Time Line
Starting October 14th, we, as a group, are going to travel to ten separate dorms to survey people. We will be choosing fifteen people at random from each dorm we visit and will ask them to fill out our questionnaire. We will be doing this, one dorm a day, every Tuesday and Thursday until we have reached all ten dorms and surveyed all 150 people. Our estimated time spent at each dorm will be approximately 45 minutes, or until we have successfully gathered information from fifteen people. We are visiting the five dorms located on Western campus and five others located on main campus. Here is what our schedule looks like:
Tuesday, October 14th ~ Peabody
Thursday, October 16th ~ Mary Lyon
Tuesday, October 21st ~ Clawson
Thursday, October 23rd ~ Thompson
Tuesday, October 28th ~ Havighurst
Thursday, October 30th ~ Tappan
Tuesday, November 4th ~ Anderson
Thursday, November 6th ~ Stanton
Tuesday, November 11th ~ Emerson
Thursday, November 13th ~ Morris
Data Sheet
Our data sheet will simply tally the answers we received from the finished questionnaires. After we have compiled the information into one collection, we will begin to analyze our results.
Our Day
In order to share the details of our experiment, we will engage the class in an interactive presentation. We will start by passing out the same survey we used in our fieldwork. The class and professor will fill out the survey. After they have completed the form, we will examine the results, drawing distinctions between smoking trends and environmental views within the classroom. We will then further their comprehension of the subject by presenting results from our prior studies. Using technology, we will display these findings for the class, explaining how we collected and analyzed our data. We will ask them if they see any correlations within these results. We will then disclose to them what we thought of the data. Next, we will discuss the differences in how we interpreted the figures, making conclusions about the Miami community as a whole. Using our classmatesÕ survey results, we will explore how this data relates to, or differs from, the campus as a whole. We are hoping that they have fresh ideas or new ways to look at the data we collected. We will end the presentation by summarizing our findings.
Results
From the observations gathered, it we will determine whether there is a statistically significant correlation between smoking preference and environmental concern. To show the relation, we will first graph the data pertaining to smoking preference in a histogram. In addition, we will represent different levels of environmental concern on a separate graph, in order to show the differences between the students tested. Factors within the experiment will be age, amount smoked, degree of environmental awareness, location on campus, amount of time student has been a smoker, and lurking variables.
To determine statistical significance, a T-test will be performed on the data. The results will draw from the correlation between environmental concern and smoking preference. This information will be presented in a data table, and the bar graphs and scatter plots will visually represent the data. The T-test results will determine whether a statistical significance lies behind the relationship of smoking and environmental concern.
Discussion and Conclusions
From the data collected, the hypothesis will either be accepted or rejected based on the statistical results found. Depending on the outcome, many different situations may arise. These interest areas will be determined after the analysis and after the data has been labeled significant or insignificant. We will address any questions our experiment brought up and summarize why we obtained the findings we did. In addition, we will provide recommendations for improving our study.

REFERENCES
Alexander, C., Piazza, M., Mekos, D., & Valente, T. (2001). Peers, schools, and adolescent cigarette smoking. Journal of Adolescent Health, 29 (1), 22-30.
(4 October 2003). American Lung Association fact sheet Ð teenage tobacco use [On-line]. Available WWW: http://www.lungusa.org/tobacco/teenager_factsheet99.html
Davis, J. L. (4 October 2003). Girls: Lighting up to calm down? [On-line]. Available WWW: http://my.webmd.com/content/article/14/1674_51445
Foshee, V., & Bauman, K. E. (1992). Parental and peer characteristics as modifiers of the bond-behavior relationship: An elaboration of control theory. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 33 (1), 66-76.
Goodin, R. E. (1989). The ethics of smoking. Ethics, 99 (3), 574-624.
Johnston, L. D., OÕMalley, P. M., & Bachman, J. G. (7 October 2003). Behavior and social environment indicators [On-line]. Available WWW: http://www.childstats.gov/ac2000/behtxt.asp
Koval, J. J., Pederson, L. L., Mills, C. A., McGrady, G. A., & Carvajal, S. C. (2000). Models of the relationship of stress, depression, and other psychosocial factor to smoking behavior: A comparison of a cohort of students in grades 6 and 8. Preventive Medicine, 30 (6), 463-477.
Repace, J. L., & Lowrey, A. H. (1980). Indoor air pollution, tobacco smoke, and public health. Science, 208 (4443), 464-472.
Rowley, C. H. (4 October 2003). Passive smoke Ð danger in the air we breathe [On-line]. Available WWW: http://quitsmoking.about.com/library/weekly/AA051297.HTM?rnk=81&terms=Teenage+Smoking
Sander, W. (1995). Schooling and quitting smoking. The Review of Economics and Statistics, 77 (1), 191-199.
Snow, P. C., & Bruce, D. D. (2003). Cigarette smoking in teenage girls: Exploring the role of peer reputations, self-concept and coping. Health Education Research, 18 (4), 439-452.
Spengler, J. D., & Sexton, K. (1983). Indoor air pollution: A public health perspective. Science, 221 (4605), 9-17.
Tucker, J. S., Ellickson, P. L., & Klein, D. J. (2003). Predictors of the transition to regular smoking during adolescence and young adulthood. Journal of Adolescent Health, 32 (4), 314-324.
Van Esch, S. (21 September 2003). The environmentalists will win in the end [On-line]. Available WWW: http://www.spark-online.com/august00/trends/esch.html
Yoon, S. Y. (21 September 2003). Tobacco at the World Summit on Sustainable Development [On-line]. Available WWW: http://www.pagu.org.br/leituras/36_leitura.doc