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Research Finds truth® Effectively Curbed Teen Smoking
3/3/2009
Philip Morris’ “Think. Don’t Smoke” Campaign Actually Increased Teens Intentions to Smoke
Washington, DC – March 3, 2009 – A growing body of research continues to demonstrate the effectiveness of truth®, the nation’s largest youth smoking prevention campaign not directed by the tobacco industry. A recent study published in the online edition of the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (IJERPH) found that the truth® campaign increased antismoking beliefs among teens, decreased their intent to smoke, and lowered the rates of teens starting to smoke. In contrast, Philip Morris’ “Think. Don’t Smoke” campaign had virtually no effect on changing teens’ attitudes about tobacco or smoking initiation. In fact, it actually increased teens’ intentions to smoke soon.
“This is the fourth study to be released in the last few weeks that validates the truth® campaign’s efforts,” said Dr. Cheryl G. Healton, President and CEO of the American Legacy Foundation®. “With about 3900 youth trying their first cigarettes every day, there remains a critical need for science-based, national youth smoking prevention and effective counter-marketing campaigns that educate the nation’s youth about tobacco and safeguard them from lifetime smoking addictions that have the potential to cut their lives short. Leaving smoking prevention education to the tobacco companies would clearly not be in the best interests of America’s youth.”
In the IJERPH paper released today, lead author Kevin C. Davis and his team considered the differences between the approaches of the truth® campaign and a Philip Morris campaign - “Think. Don’t Smoke” (TDS) - studying the two campaigns’ effects on antismoking beliefs, intent to smoke and smoking initiation among youth. They note that “the truth® campaign is marketed as a popular youth brand that features risk-taking youth who may appear to be open to smoking, delivering facts and messages about the tobacco industry specifically. For example, many of the truth® advertisements focus on the marketing practices of the tobacco industry and its efforts to obscure the health effects of smoking. In contrast, the TDS campaign featured role model youths declaring firm decisions not to smoke and explaining their reasons for not smoking. TDS aired between 1998 and 2002 – the second largest national campaign with television ads to air during the time of the study.”
Davis and his team found that more frequent recall truth® campaign ads resulted in three key behavioral and attitudinal changes:
- increased agreement with antismoking beliefs
- a decrease in the intention to smoke
- lower rates of initiation to current and established smoking
In contrast, recall of “Think. Don’t Smoke” ads were associated with an increased intention to start smoking soon. However, recall of TDS ads were not significantly associated with tobacco beliefs or smoking initiation among youth overall.
Data from the study came from a three-year, in-school survey of approximately 16,000 youth in grades 6 through 12. Research was conducted by a team from RTI International, Columbia University and Legacy.
Last week, three other new research papers found that truth® remains highly effective as well as cost-efficient in its mission to prevent the youth of America from beginning to smoke:
Ø The first paper found that truth® was directly responsible for keeping 450,000 teens from starting to smoke during its first four years
Ø A second study led by Johns Hopkins found that the campaign not only paid for itself in its first two years, but also saved between $1.9 and $5.4 billion in medical care costs to society. [The two papers will be published in the April issue of AJPM but are available on the Journal’s Web site, http://www.ajpm-online.net/.]
Ø A third paper appearing in the February issue of Ethnicity and Health showed that youth exposed to the truth® campaign were more likely to have anti-tobacco beliefs and attitudes.
February 2009 marks the ninth anniversary of the truth® campaign – a campaign that has always focused on reaching teens in their daily lives, and using peer-to-peer communication to empower teens to make their own informed choices about tobacco use. truth® ads are hard-hitting and graphic because research has proven that that is what teens respond to. Over the years, the campaign has developed memorable television commercials, impactful print advertisements, an iconic presence on summer musical and sporting tours. Major efforts have revolved around integrating the campaign’s key messages into technology that teens use every day, including the Web, social networking sites and mobile messaging. The campaign has been heralded by study after study for resonating with teens and affecting change in their attitudes and behaviors toward tobacco use.
Nearly 80% of American adults who smoke, started before the age of 18. Last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) with findings from the National Youth Tobacco Survey (NYTS) that conclude the most heavily advertised brands of cigarettes remain those most preferred by youth smokers - Marlboro, Camel and Newport.
The American Legacy Foundation® and the truth® campaign have achieved this with only a fraction of the budget that the tobacco industry has spent on marketing its products. As of 2005 Federal Trade Commission figures, the tobacco industry spends nearly $36 million dollars a day on domestic marketing, an amount that exceeds the annual truth® budget. Currently, the Foundation faces a serious budgetary drop-off that may jeopardize its ability to develop and sustain its effective campaigns.
BACKGROUND ON THE truth® CAMPAIGN
truth®, launched in February 2000, is the largest national youth smoking prevention campaign and the only national campaign not directed by the tobacco industry. The campaign exposes the tactics of the tobacco industry, the truth about addiction, and the health effects and social consequences of smoking. truth® allows teens to make informed choices about tobacco use by giving them the facts about the industry and its products.
The American Legacy Foundation® is dedicated to building a world where young people reject tobacco and anyone can quit. Located in Washington, D.C., the foundation develops programs that address the health effects of tobacco use, especially among vulnerable populations disproportionately affected by the toll of tobacco, through grants, technical assistance and training, partnerships, youth activism, and counter-marketing and grassroots marketing campaigns. The foundation’s programs include truth®, a national youth smoking prevention campaign that has been cited as contributing to significant declines in youth smoking; EX®, an innovative public health program designed to speak to smokers in their own language and change the way they approach quitting; research initiatives exploring the causes, consequences and approaches to reducing tobacco use; and a nationally-renowned program of outreach to priority populations. The American Legacy Foundation was created as a result of the November 1998 Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) reached between attorneys general from 46 states, five U.S. territories and the tobacco industry. Visit www.americanlegacy.org.
The American Legacy Foundation® is equipped with a VideoLink ReadyCam™ television studio system, providing you with faster, easier access to the nation’s leading tobacco prevention and cessation experts. From this in-house broadcast studio, Legacy can offer immediate access to its experts to comment on breaking news, new research publications, or any news related to youth smoking prevention, adult quit smoking programs, or any issue related to smoking. The studio is connected directly to the Vyvx fiber network and is always available for live or pre-taped interviews. To arrange an interview using the ReadyCam, please contact Julia Cartwright at 202-454-5596.
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Contact: Patricia McLaughlin, American Legacy Foundation, 202-454-5560, pmclaughlin@americanlegacy.org; Trish O’Callaghan, the ad*itive, 215-525-1101, pocallaghan@ad-itive.com