Investigation of first opportunities to use cigarettes and smokeless tobacco

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Abstract
This study applied the behavior-analytic approach to assess characteristics of first opportunities to use tobacco with 1431 tenth-grade students from 14 school districts in Washington State. Classrooms were randomly assigned to provide descriptions of first opportunities to use either cigarettes or smokeless tobacco. Descriptions included: (i) age at opportunity; (ii) presence of others; (iii) age, sex and prior tobacco use of others who were present; (iv) planning the opportunity; (v) attempted refusal; (vi) outcome of opportunity; and (vii) physical reactions to use. Students' descriptions reflected peer-group oriented initiation, with same-sex, same-age peers involved in the majority of situations described. Comparedwith minimal experimenters, persistent users of tobacco were more likely to pre-plan their first opportunity and to reportmore positive and fewer negative physical reactions to their first use. Attempting to refuse the tobacco during one's first opportunity was the strongest predictor of outcome.

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