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Individual interviews were conducted with 726 Glasgow children aged 6–17 years. The majority of the secondary school children made good judgements of the cigarette brands preferred by teenage and adult smokers. The young smokers were particularly good at this. These findings add to the growing body of evidence indicating that young people are much more aware of matters relating to cigarettes (such as brand names and imagery) than adults realize, and that underage smokers are more aware of these matters than nonsmokers of the same age.

Primary school children with parents who smoked tended to be more aware of brand preferences than primary school children whose parents did not smoke.This indicates that the children of smokers tend to be more attuned to brand preferences, and that much of this early learning occurs in the home.

The young smokers showed an enhanced preference for the brand most preferred by adults. This replicates a phenomenon reported in Australia. The preferred brand in Glasgow, Kensitas Club, is heavily advertised in the Glasgow press.

The findings suggest that children are highly sensitive to the advertising of cigarette brands, and provide further support for recent research indicating that cigarette advertising promotes and reinforces smoking among the young.