The Psychology of Gender 4th Edition

362 Chapter 10

the increased cost of cigarettes, many people

have attempted to quit smoking. Over half of

all high school smokers have said that they

have tried to quit (Centers for Disease Con-

trol and Prevention, 2010a). Among adults,

more men than women have quit smok-

ing. There is also evidence that when both

women and men try to quit smoking, men’s

attempts are more often successful (Piper

et al., 2010). Both hypnosis (Green, Lynn, &

Montgomery, 2008) and nicotine replace-

ment therapy (Perkins & Scott, 2008) are

less effective in helping women than men to

quit smoking. Perhaps physicians are aware

of this difference, as physicians are less likely

to prescribe smoking cessation medication to

women than men (Steinberg et al., 2006).

Several theories attempt to explain why

it is more difficult for women to quit smoking.

One theory is that smoking is associated with

negative affect and depression, and women

females have the lowest rates of smoking.

Among Whites, a similar percentage of girls

and boys smoke, whereas among Blacks and

Hispanics, more boys than girls smoke. Data

collected on middle school students (sixth

through eighth grade) show that more boys

than girls smoke (11% vs. 8%), Hispanics

smoke the most (11%), Asians the least (5%),

with Whites and Blacks in the middle (9%

and 10%, respectively; Centers for Disease

Control and Prevention, 2007a).

Smoking Cessation. Smoking is more

difficult in the United States than it was

10 and 20 years ago, as it has been banned

from many public buildings, restaurants,

ballparks, and even some beaches. As of

2010, smoking was banned from all public

places in 32 states (Kaiser Family Founda-

tion, 2010). With these smoking restrictions,

the increased awareness of health risks, and

FIGURE 10.4 Prevalence of current cigarette smoking among high school students

over time. Smoking rates increased among White, Black, and Hispanic high school

students in the early 1990s, decreased since 1997, and seem to have leveled off.

Source: Adapted from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2010c).

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009

High School Students Who Reported Current Smoking

Percent

White Male

White Female

Black Male

Black Female

Hispanic Male

Hispanic Female

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