Smoking Behavior and the Tobacco Crop.

The purpose of the study was to measure the influence of the physical and economic presence of the tobacco crop on the smoking behavior and related attitudes of adolescents in tobacco raising regions. A stratified random sample of all grades five-12 from the schools in four Kentucky counties yielded a sample size of 1,322 students. A variable called Tobacco Crop Intensity (TCI), based on pounds of tobacco sold per population and land area, was defined. It was determined that the counties were polarized on this variable; two counties have a much more significant crop. Students from the pairs of counties were surveyed and compared. Results indicate that young people living in the counties with high intensity tobacco production or whose parents grow tobacco were twice as likely to smoke cigarettes; some of their attitudes and beliefs indicate a greater predisposition to cigarette smoking. Implications for government agricultural and educational policy are discussed.