The 13th World Conference on Tobacco OR Health

Objective: Imitation may play a major role in the development and maintenance of addictive behaviors such as smoking. It may occur between friends and peers, but possibly also between strangers. This experimental study examined whether smokers imitate the smoking behavior of strangers and whether the nature of social interactions affects the magnitude and duration of imitation.

Methods: An experimental design with a 3 (heavy smoking, light smoking, or no smoking condition) by 2 (warm versus cold social interaction condition) factorial design was used. Daily smoking young adults were exposed to same-gender confederates. Participants were observed in a ‘naturalistic setting', in our case a bar laboratory. Smoking and social behavior of the participants was observed and coded during a 30-minute break between two tasks.

Results: Young adults imitated the smoking behavior of strangers, and this explained 35% of the variance in the number of cigarettes smoked by the young adult. In the warm social interaction condition, participants were more likely to smoke and to continue smoking than in the cold social interaction condition. The confederate's smoking and participant's urges to smoke affected participants' lighting up their first cigarette. Participants in the heavy-smoking condition and in the warm social interaction condition were more likely to light up a second cigarette. Only in the heavy-smoking condition did participants light up a third cigarette. The findings of this study underline why governmental actions are needed to create and more strictly enhance smoke-free areas in public places where strangers can meet and imitate each other.