Table 35.1. Perceived benefits and harms of smoking by age among 4835 AUTS smokers 21 to 74 years of age

Table 35.1. Perceived benefits and harms of smoking by age among 4835 AUTS smokers 21 to 74 years of age.
Variable	Age 21-49 years (n = 3151)	Age 50-74 years (n = 1234)
Perceived benefits (pros) of smoking
Smoking reduces tension	65.65	75.91±
Smoking helps me cope	49.18	55.86±
Smoking controls weight	49.12	55.08±
Smoking is less harmful than being 20 lb overweight	28.44	47.0±
Perceived harms (cons) of smoking
How concerned about personal health effects [% fairly/very (vs. not at all/slightly)]	45.43	35.45±
How much connection is there between smoking and illness? [% very strong (vs. some or none)]	33.48	27.18±
How much more likely are smokers to get these diseases? [% somewhat or much more (vs. no more)]
Heart disease	79.53	69.64±
Lung cancer	91.19	80.27±
Bladder cancer	33.80	26.87±
Emphysema	91.21	86.83±
Coughs	92.23	86.72±
Larynx cancer	89.81	81.14±
Bronchitis	82.05	72.81±
Belief that smokers get more diseases (mean score)	1.40	1.23±
AUTS, Adult Use of Tobacco Survey.
Source: From Orleans et al.,⁶ with permission.