Carolyn A. Strong and Sidira Eftychia
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the influence of family and friends on teenage smoking behaviour in Greece, as distinct from tobacco marketing, against the background…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the influence of family and friends on teenage smoking behaviour in Greece, as distinct from tobacco marketing, against the background of relevant literature and previous studies elsewhere.
Design/methodology/approach
A total of 100 Greeks between the ages of 16 and 19 were interviewed in coffee shops and fast‐food restaurants, using a questionnaire combining structured questions with opportunities for free discussion during completion. Respondent anonymity was preserved.
Findings
The paper is in keeping with intentionally exploratory research objectives. Selected findings are reported and discussed, without full tabulation of all results. With that proviso, the paper concludes that smoking among Greek teenagers is strongly influenced by family and friends: roughly one in ten were offered a cigarette by a relative; two‐thirds came from families containing at least some smokers, with only two with no friends who smoked. Evidence is stronger among smokers in the sample than non‐smokers. A tentative conclusion, therefore, is that experimentation and continuation is an outcome of consumer socialization.
Research limitations/implications
The sample was relatively small and stated intent exploratory. A key feature is the social context in which behaviour was investigated. Further research is needed, to improve the rigour of conclusions, which are nonetheless interestingly indicative.
Practical implications
The paper provides potentially useful insights and directions of further enquiry for marketing planners, advertising strategists, brand managers, market researchers, social marketers and health campaigners, and for academics who work with them.
Originality/value
The paper examines a widely investigated phenomenon in a social environment distinctively different from the European norm, in the smoking context.