Light cigarettes are generally marketed as healthier than regular cigarettes. Research hasn't shown that to be true, but more than half of U.S. smokers smoke them anyway. A study in northern California looked at whether adolescents who smoke light cigarettes think they're being healthy.

What the researchers wanted to know: How do adolescents perceive the risks of smoking light cigarettes?

What they did: Two hundred sixty-seven ninth and tenth graders at two different schools in Northern California filled out a questionnaire about smoking. The kids answered questions like "If you smoke 2 or 3 cigarettes [or light cigarettes] a day, how easy will it be for you to quit smoking?"

What they found: Many adolescents thought light cigarettes were less dangerous than regular cigarettes. For example, they thought that smoking light cigarettes was less likely to cause lung cancer and heart attacks in the long term than smoking regular cigarettes, or that it would be easier to quit smoking light cigarettes.

What the study means to you: If adolescents think smoking light cigarettes isn't as bad for them, they may be more likely to start smoking, the authors speculate. They say teens should be given information specifically about light cigarettes, so they'll know what they're doing when they decide whether to smoke.

Caveats: The questions didn't ask about "light cigarettes" or "regular cigarettes" but "light cigarettes" and "cigarettes" - so it's possible that kids didn't catch on that the researchers meant "regular cigarettes" when they said "cigarettes."

Find out more: "The Truth About 'Light' Cigarettes" from the National Cancer Institute explains why they aren't better for your health.

As does Philip Morris's website

Read the article: Kropp, R.Y. and B.L. Halpern-Felsher. "Adolescents' Beliefs About the Risks Involved in Smoking 'Light' Cigarettes." Pediatrics. October 2004, Vol. 114, No. 4, pp. e445-e451.

Abstract online: http://pediatrics.aappublications.org