Beliefs About Smoking in Millennial Generation Teenage Women

Morbidity related to cigarette use remains the leading preventable cause of death in the United States today. Research has shown that health promotion messages tailored to the population are most effective. Given the fact that most smokers begin by age 18, nurse practitioners who provide care to teens are in a unique position to deliver antismoking messages. This study identifies beliefs associated with cigarette smoking in millennial generation teenage women and compares these beliefs with the beliefs of female teenagers surveyed 2 decades ago. These data could prove valuable in the development of targeted antismoking messages and tobacco policy addressing today's young women.