Researchers say that they have found a direct correlation between the number of cigarette ads viewed by teens and their likelihood of becoming smokers, Reuters reported May 7.

Sandy Slater and researchers at Bridging the Gap, a joint research project of the University of Illinois at Chicago and the University of Michigan, reviewed tobacco-use surveys of 26,000 8th-, 10th-, and 12th-graders and found that smoking rates rose alongside point-of-sale advertising.

"Our study shows that the marketing of cigarettes in places where teens shop clearly increases their cigarette use," said Slater.

The authors predicted that removing point-of-sale tobacco ads in a community with moderate levels of ads would cut experimentation with cigarettes by 11.25 percent, whereas increasing ads to maximum levels would increase experimentation by 11 percent.

The study was published in the May 2007 issue of the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine.