Research Catalog

Title

The smoking puzzle : information, risk perception, and choice / Frank A. Sloan, V. Kerry Smith, Donald H. Taylor, Jr.

Author

Sloan, Frank A.

Publication

Cambridge, Mass. : Harvard University Press, 2003.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Holdings

Details

Additional Authors

• Smith, V. Kerry (Vincent Kerry), 1945-
• Taylor, Donald H.

Description

xii, 273 p. : ill.; 25 cm.

Summary

"Older adults' decisions to quit smoking require personal experience with the serious health impacts associated with smoking. Smokers over fifty revise their risk perceptions only after experiencing a major health shock - such as a heart attack. But less serious symptoms, such as shortness of breath, do not cause changes in perceptions. Waiting for such a jolt to occur is obviously imprudent." "The authors show that well crafted messages about how smoking affects quality of life can greatly affect current perceptions of smoking risks. If smokers are informed of long-term consequences of a disease, and if they are told that quitting can indeed come too late, they are able to evaluate the risks of smoking more accurately, and act accordingly."--BOOK JACKET.

Subject

• Cigarette smokers > Attitudes
• Cigarette smokers > Health risk assessment
• Health Behavior
• Health Policy
• Risk perception
• Risk-Taking
• Smoking > Health aspects
• Smoking > adverse effects
• Smoking > psychology

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references (p. 253-268) and index.

Processing Action (note)

• committed to retain

Contents

Linking information, risk perception, and choice: an economic approach -- Cognition, perception, and behavior: are 'bad choices' allowed with rational choice? -- Government policy and advertising as sources of information for smokers -- Can smokers expect personal health signals? An evaluation of the health impact of cigarette smoking -- Determinants of risk perception -- Do health shocks influence smoking behavior? Cessation and relapse patterns in older adults -- Personalized health messages and the perceived risks of smoking -- Risk, longevity expectations, and demand for cigarettes -- Conclusions and policy implications.

ISBN

0674010396 (hc)

LCCN

^^2002192185

OCLC

51216393

Owning Institutions

Harvard Library