Do They Know What They are Doing? Risk Perceptions and Smoking Behaviour Among Swedish Teenagers

Cross-sectional survey data on Swedish adolescents aged 12--18 was used to analyse perceived risks of smoking-related lung cancer, the determinants of these risk perceptions, and how these perceptions related to smoking behaviour. Three major conclusions were drawn: (1) that both smokers and non-smokers overestimated the risks of lung cancer, (2) that these risk perceptions fell substantially with age, but nevertheless implied risk overestimation, and (3) that individuals with higher perceived risks were less likely to be smokers but that risk beliefs had no effect on the number of cigarettes smoked.