Teens with More Spending Money More Likely to Smoke

University of Toronto researcher, Bo Zang wanted to investigate the role discretionary spending money played in teen smoking behaviors – and the answer, not terribly surprisingly, is that teens with more money to spend tend to smoke more.

Using data from the Ontario Student Drug Use Survey, of students from grades 7 to 12, Zang found that:

• Students with less that $10 per week to spend were unlikely to be smokers
• Students with more than $20 to spend per week were far more likely to be experimental smokers
• Students with more than $30 to spend per week were far more likely to smoke daily
• Students with more than $60 to spend per week were far more likely to smoke daily and heavily.

Zang is quick to point out that the study does not prove that giving teens spending money causes smoking behaviors, merely that there is a correlation between increased pocket money, and heavier smoking.

She recommends tobacco price increases as a way to limit teen smoking.