@article {Siahpushiii65, author = {M Siahpush and A McNeill and D Hammond and G T Fong}, title = {Socioeconomic and country variations in knowledge of health risks of tobacco smoking and toxic constituents of smoke: results from the 2002 International Tobacco Control (ITC) Four Country Survey}, volume = {15}, number = {suppl 3}, pages = {iii65--iii70}, year = {2006}, doi = {10.1136/tc.2005.013276}, publisher = {BMJ Publishing Group Ltd}, abstract = {Background: Socioeconomic status is strongly associated with smoking prevalence and social class differences contribute substantially to social inequalities in mortality. This research investigated socioeconomic and country variations in smokers{\textquoteright} knowledge that smoking causes heart disease, stroke, impotence and lung cancer, that smoke contains cyanide, mercury, arsenic and carbon monoxide, and whether nicotine causes most of the cancer. Methods: Data were from the International Tobacco Control (ITC) Four Country Survey, a cohort survey of over suppl_ adult smokers from four countries: the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Data were collected via telephone interviews in 2002. Results: Higher education and income were associated with higher awareness. For example, the odds of knowing that smoking causes heart disease, stroke and lung cancer were respectively 71\%, 34\% and 83\% larger for respondents with high versus low income. The odds of knowing that smoke contains cyanide, mercury, arsenic and carbon monoxide were respectively 66\%, 26\%, 44\% and 108\% larger for respondents with a university degree than those with a high school diploma or lower level of education. Results also revealed that awareness of harms of smoking was generally the highest in Canada and the lowest in the UK. Conclusions: Lower socioeconomic status was associated with lower awareness of the harms of smoking and misunderstanding around nicotine. There is a need to improve knowledge of the dangers of smoking among the disadvantaged segments of the population.}, issn = {0964-4563}, URL = {https://tobaccocontrol.bmj.com/content/15/suppl_3/iii65}, eprint = {https://tobaccocontrol.bmj.com/content/15/suppl_3/iii65.full.pdf}, journal = {Tobacco Control} }