Study Examines Teens' Perceptions of Peer Smoking truth®, the nation's largest youth smoking prevention campaign, is leaving an impression on what America's teens think about how many of their peers are smoking. A study published in the September issue of the Journal of Adolescent Health found that teens exposed to the truth® campaign had a more accurate view of how many of their peers actually smoke, while those with less exposure to the campaign were found to believe smoking was more common within their age group. Additionally, the study examined the Think Don't Smoke campaign conducted by Philip Morris and found that there was no association between that effort and perceived prevalence of peer smoking. Peer behavior can play a significant and influential role in a teen's choices. Perceived prevalence of peer smoking has been shown to be a predictor of future smoking among young people. Consequently, the authors state that when developing a comprehensive message approach, encouraging more realistic perceptions about youth smoking should be considered for preventing youth from smoking. Based on a scale of 1-10, the study asked teens: "Out of every 10 people your age, how many do you think smoke?" By and large, youths' perceptions of how many of their peers are smoking dropped over the study period. Perceived smoking rates decreased from 45 percent in late 1999/early 2000 to 38 percent in the fall of 2003. The study, Association Between National Smoking Prevention Campaigns and Perceived Smoking Prevalence Among Youth in the United States, was conducted by RTI International and funded by the American Legacy Foundation.