A situational analysis of adolescent smoking

Forty-four adolescent smokers self-monitored their smoking for 1 week. For 4 hr each day subjects recorded the person, place, and activity associated with each cigarette smoked. Seventy-one percent of all cigarettes were smoked in the presence of another person. Roughly half of those cigarettes were smoked with peers. A surprising amount of smoking occurred in the subject's own home, suggesting that the smoking of the subjects is accepted, if not condoned, by their parents. The data generally confirm the social nature of adolescent smoking.