College students seem to be eternally stigmatized by alcohol, leading many universities and other official bodies to put the smack down on underage and irresponsible drinking.

An increasing rate of smokers under the age of 24 also has the state government worried, spurring ad campaigns and promotions to skew the perception that smoking is cool.

But it’s difficult to convince young adults that image is nothing by saying image is everything.

Part of the anti-smoking campaign features billboards depicting smokers as dumb-looking or bad-smelling freaks. One says, “Kissing a smoker is like licking an ash tray.”

Another shows some animals, such as fish and dogs and cats, smoking cigarettes, with a caption saying something like, “You look just as silly when you do it.”

While some may believe that idea to be true, kids of our generation are not going to see that sign and take its message to heart — they’ll simply laugh and think, “Nice try, Uncle Sam.” Kids are smarter than you think. They can see right through the attempts to be hip to a bunch of stiffs in suits trying to lower a statistic.

College-age kids may not have the hormonal ups and downs of growing teens, but many still suffer from the same low self-esteem issues and turn to liquor, tobacco or other drugs to look cool in others’ eyes.

As reported in Monday’s Daily, students at Iowa State don’t drink as much as their peers think they do.

At the average party, students believe their peers are consuming about 5.2 drinks, when in reality, most have only about 3.8, according to a survey by the Student Health Center.

Many students spend their Friday and Saturday nights drinking beer with their friends, whether it be in a dorm room or at a keg party. And many of those students never drank before college.

Students come to college expecting a never-ending party where everybody drinks until they puke and tell their drunken tales the next afternoon.

But statistics show that students think their friends drink more than they actually do. Most people don’t keep a close eye on how much others are drinking, so more than likely students are bragging about their alcoholic conquests and padding the facts by about 1.4 drinks.

The drunker you say you were, the funnier the stories become.

However, statistics on tobacco use seem to show another trend.

According to a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 30.4 percent of Iowa’s 18- to 24-year-olds smoke — the national average is 24.8 percent.

At Iowa State, the same Student Health survey of alcohol use says 36 percent of all students smoke.

While these numbers may at first appear shocking, it’s always the fine print that gets you.

These numbers actually show the percentage of students who have smoked in the last 30 days, and the definition of smoking ranges from three packs a day to one puff a month.

Randy Mayer, evaluation and research coordinator for the Student Health Center, told the Daily Monday that these numbers aren’t as disconcerting as they initially may appear.

He also blames advertising and adult condemnation for any statistical increase.

Young adults see cigarette ads, whether promotional or deterrent, and want to smoke. They want to look cool and upset adults in one giant swing of a lit stick of rolled tobacco.

Again, students leave home and see smokers and assume that is what the in-crowd does.

According to the ISU survey, the average 36 percent of students who had smoked in the last 30 days breaks down to 41 percent freshmen, 32 percent sophomores, 34 percent juniors and 36 percent seniors.

The naive freshmen not only learn from their peers that heavy drinking is the ticket to popularity, but they also see a third of their upperclassmen smoking and assume that is a key element of the chic image.

Mayer said he partially blames the apparent sky-rocket in smokers on not being able to smoke indoors. Students, faculty and staff must take their smoke breaks outside of buildings, on benches and while walking between classes, giving the impression that a huge chunk of the university population smokes.

But proportionately, more smokers venture outdoors during their free time than non-smokers, creating the illusion that most people smoke, and anyone looking for a cool new look can deduce that smoking must be the way.

There is no fool-proof way for the university or the government to cut down on smoking, and there certainly is no way for “the man” to convince young adults that something everybody else is doing isn’t right.

Minors are going to drink, students are going to drink too much and peer example is always going to prevail over proper adult suggestion.

The only way to immediately cut down on bad behavior is to convert the popular majority, who are perhaps the ones doing the assimilating in the first place.

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Carrie Tett is a junior in journalism and mass communication from Ames. She is city/state editor and beat coordinator of the Daily.