abstract
Building on the influence of presumed influence (IPI) model, this study examines how smoking-related
messages on social media influence college students’ smoking. We surveyed 366 college students from
three U.S. Midwestern universities in 2012 and examined the effects of expression and reception of
smoking-related messages on smoking using path analysis. We found that the expression and reception
of prosmoking messages not only directly affected smoking but also had indirect effects on smoking
through (1) perceived peer expression of prosmoking messages and (2) perceived peer smoking norms.
For antismoking messages, only reception had a significant indirect influence on smoking through (1)
perceived peer reception of antismoking messages and (2) perceived peer smoking norms. In conclusion,
social media function as an effective communication channel for generating, sharing, receiving, and
commenting on smoking-related content and are thus influential on college students’ smoking.