Decline in teenage smoking with rise in mobile phone ownership: hypothesis

Abstract

Editor-The good news is that the seemingly inexorable rise in teenage smoking in Britain has reversed. A sharp decline in the late 1990s has been as fast as the rise in the early 1990s. The table shows changes since the peak in 1996. 1 We hypothesise that the fall in youth smoking and the rise in ownership of mobile phones among adolescents are related. The functions that smoking offers to teenagers have been extensively studied, 2 and we argue that the mobile phone is an effective competitor to cigarettes in the market for products that offer teenagers adult style, individuality, sociability, rebellion, peer group bonding, and adult aspiration. The marketing of mobile phones is rooted in promoting self image and identity, which resembles cigarette advertising. As ownership increases, mobile phones will become essential for membership of peer groups that organise their social life on the move and by means of mobile phones. Over the period in which smoking rates have fallen among 15 year olds the ownership of mobile phones has sharply increased, having risen from low rates in the early 1990s (figure). The trend in ownership of mobile phones has continued sharply upwards, with ownership reaching 73% among 15-24 year olds and 70% among 15-17 year olds by August 2000. To explain the link with declining teenage smoking, mobile phones are particularly important as they consume teenagers' available cash, especially the pay as you go cards. If some teenagers cannot afford to smoke and pay for a mobile phone or they find that owning a mobile phone satisfies the same needs as smoking, they may decide not to smoke. Smoking may become seen as old technology, with the bright new world of text messaging, email, WAP, and 3G phones becoming the new aspirational gateway to adult life. Given the continued rise in ownership of mobile phones, will the trend continue? Data on teenage smoking are not yet available for 2000, but if our hypothesis is correct the need to own a mobile phone will be providing vigorous competition for the spare cash once spent on cigarettes, while meeting many of same the needs.

Mobile Phone Use does not Discourage Adolescent Smoking in Japan

“…Therefore, the hypothesis (Charlton & Bates, 2000) that the decrease in smoking prevalence among adolescents during recent years is due to mobile phone use can be rejected. This result was similar to previous studies conducted in European countries (Koivusilta et al, 2003(Koivusilta et al, : 2005Steggles & Jarvis, 2003).…”

“…There was one report indicating that the prevalence of adolescent smoking had decreased earlier than the spread of mobile phones (Invernizzi, 2001). In addition, the prevalence of adolescent smoking actually increased in some of the countries where mobile phones has spread among the young people (Italian girls, Switzerland) (Invernizzi et al, 2001;Lee 2001). In other counties, researchers examined the association between smoking behavior and the possession of mobile phone directly (Koivusidflta et al, 2003(Koivusidflta et al, : 2005Sleggles & Jarvis, 2003).…”

“…Since British researchers (Charlton & Bates, 2000) observed that the trend in adolescent smoking prevalence was inversely correlated with the prevalence of mobile phone use in British study in 2000, they hypothesized that mobile phone use contributed to the decreasing in the smoking prevalence.…”

Psychological Predictors of Problem Mobile Phone Use

“…There are indications that, for the younger demographic in particular, mobile phones are becoming an important part of their culture. 22,40,41 Mobile phone ownership may, in this way, play an important role in subgroup culture and, in turn, self-esteem.…”

Measuring Prevalence: Changes in the use of tobacco among Australian secondary students: results of the 1999 prevalence study and comparisons with earlier years

“…As some have speculated, these could include the increased use of mobile phones, which may work by providing youth with an alternative signifier of adulthood or by competing with tobacco for an adolescent's spending money. 19 However, as the link between mobile phones and reduced smoking prevelance is highly speculative, other factors might be working. What these might be, we do not know, but they could be a fr uitful field of investigation.…”