Change of direction for smoking PhD

Julian De Meyrick

Five years after he first enrolled in a PhD program, Macquarie University business lecturer Julian De Meyrick has changed direction after encountering a major obstacle researching his original topic.

Initially, De Meyrick pursued the idea that the current approach of deterring young people from taking up smoking is defective. The major obstacle in his path was interviewing his target market, 15-year-olds. “People only ever take up smoking when they are around 15 years old,” explains De Meyrick. “This is the case all around the world.”

De Meyrick recently published a paper on the process he was required to follow to conduct interviews. “I first required approval from the University Ethics Committee and the Department of Education Research Directorate, followed by the school principal and teacher,” says De Meyrick. “Finally I needed written approval from the parent/caregiver of every student.”

After developing and trialing a questionnaire at Macquarie University and in the United Kingdom, De Meyrick conducted it in New South Wales. After sending out 2,500 consent letters he received back less than 200 which led to a response rate of 57 students. This is when he decided to abandon that particular approach.

There is no sense of disheartenment in De Meyrick who has been grateful for the opportunities presented to him as a PhD student so far. He has published a number of papers and spoken at international conferences.

While his core interest in tobacco remains, De Meyrick will now explore how well smoking prevalence in Australia fits the product life cycle model.

“As a marketer I am wedded to the thought that products have a lifecycle,” explains De Meyrick. “They are launched, they grow slowly, then very quickly, they mature and then they decline. What I am looking at is the cyclical approach in tobacco prevalence. If we believe it is an ordinary product lifecycle and keep doing what we are already doing, smoking prevalence should continue to decline and eventually cease altogether. I believe this is not right.  I believe that, because young people are still taking it up, the decline in smoking will itself slow down and smoking rates in the community will gradually turn up.”

To research his new topic, De Meyrick will utilise information that the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) compiles during their regular, Australia wide health survey. One of the elements that this survey looks at is smoking behaviour.

Through his investigations De Meyrick is hoping to find that young people are continuing to take up smoking despite Australia’s success in lowering the overall rate. Therefore the problem is being perpetuated. “What I am hoping to confirm is that we are doing a good job in helping people to quit,” says De Meyrick. “The gruesome ads on television are followed by a steep increase in calls to quit lines, which really work. My contention is there is a continual flock of new smokers coming through in spite of the fact that tobacco is not advertised any more.”

De Meyrick is looking to complete his PhD in 2006. “The benefit of doing this desk bound approach is that I am not dependent on anyone else’s timetable, so now it is more or less up to me,” says De Meyrick.

For further information contact De Meyrick via e-mail: julian.demeyrick@mq.edu.au

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