title: Self-report distortions of puffing topography in daily smokers.
abstract: Under-reporting tobacco consumption is common, although there is lack of evidence whether under-reporting is associated with health risk perception. In this study, smoking topography from 110 smokers was recorded over 24 hours, aiming to capture a representative average of smoking behaviour. Participants significantly under-reported the duration of secondary exposure, and there was a significant interaction between self-report distortion type and risk perception. Analysis showed that smokers under-reporting puff number declared perceiving significantly less susceptibility to acquiring airway diseases, which is correlating significantly with the level of under-reporting. The present findings may suggest that under-reporting smoking behaviour has psychological functions beyond achieving social desirability.
authors.affiliation: University of Manchester Medical School, UK erdem.pulcu@postgrad.manchester.ac.uk pulerd@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Erdem
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Pulcu
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D057566:Self Report; D000074285:Smokers / Q000523:psychology*; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology; D014028:Tobacco Smoke Pollution; D014029:Tobacco Use Disorder; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D014028:Tobacco Smoke Pollution
keywords: self-report distortions; smoking topography; susceptibility to airway disease; time perception