Jump to full article: ScienceDaily Magazine, 2008-05-02
Intro: As the westernization of India accelerates, tobacco advertising and marketing have been linked to increased tobacco use by urban Indian children as young as 11, according to a study released today by researchers at The University of Texas School of Public Health.
The study, "Associations Between Tobacco Marketing and Use Among Urban Youth In India," is published in the May/June issue of the American Journal of Health Behavior.
Findings from an earlier published study by the researchers revealed that in 2004, Indian sixth graders were using three times the amount of tobacco as eighth graders, which the authors found might indicate a new wave of increased tobacco use. The second study sought to discover the reason for the jump.
"As India becomes more westernized, more teens will use tobacco," said the study's principal investigator Cheryl Perry, Ph.D., professor and regional dean of The University of Texas School of Public Health Austin Regional Campus. "The sixth graders as a group are already thinking that smoking is cool while the eighth graders haven't been as exposed to the Western message." . . .
"The current study is the first in India to demonstrate a strong, dose-response relationship between exposure and receptivity to tobacco advertising and promotions and tobacco use among Indian youth.
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