ABSTRACT

The media bombard us with descriptions of how we should behave in order to become or remain healthy. Magazines, television reports, and newspapers all tell us about how we can avoid cancer and infectious disease, protect ourselves from accidents, and cure our addictions. Yet, despite this knowledge, many people routinely engage in unhealthy behaviors. For example, even though it is firmly established that cigarette smoking contributes significantly to lung cancer and heart disease, and there are warnings everywhere, including on cigarette packages, approximately 60 million Americans still use tobacco (Holloway, 1991).