Cultivation and Spiral of Silence Effects: The Case of Smoking

Public opinion about regulating smoking is characterized by considerable ambivalence. On the one hand, more than 80% of Americans recognize the health risks of smoking cigarettes; the majority of the public favors various antismoking policies, such as restricting smoking in public places. On the other hand, a majority also agrees that a person should have the right to smoke in public. Studies about communication and media effects on smoking are mostly concerned about the effectiveness of antismoking campaigns. How general media use, where fewer intentional antismoking messages are present, might affect attitudes about smoking is less studied. This study compares the relative impact of mass media on attitudes about smoking behavior and on various smoking-related policy stances. In particular, we are interested in the role that mass media play in influencing perceptions of the social climate surrounding cigarette smoking. Data come from a survey of 794 respondents about media use, smoking behaviors, and attitudes toward smoking. Results show that TV viewing (exposure) is indirectly related to perceptions of public support for smoking. TV exposure is positively related to prevalence estimates of smoking, which in turn are related to support for a smoking ban and to perceptions of public support for such a ban. Implications for communication theories such as spiral of silence and cultivation are discussed.