The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA

Abstract #43397

Robert E. Vollinger, MSPH, Tobacco Control Research Group, National Cancer Institute/NIH, Executive Plaza North, Room 4030, 6130 Executive Boulevard, MSC 7337, Bethesda, MD 20892-7337, 301-496-8584, Bob.Vollinger@nih.gov, Lois Biener, PHD, Center for Survey Research, University of Massachusetts, Boston, 100 Morrissey Blvd, Boston, MA 02125, Melanie Wakefield, PhD, Anti-Cancer Council of Victoria, Centre for Behavioural Research in Cancer, 100 Drummond Street, Carlton, Victoria, 3053, Australia, James D. Sargent, MD, Norris Cotton Cancer Center, Dartmouth Medical School, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, One Medical Center Dr, Lebanon, NH NH, and Charles King, JD, PhD, Graduate School of Business, Harvard University, Morgan 187, Soldiers Field Road, Boston, MA 02163.

The skillful use of mass media is one of the most powerful tools for influencing tobacco utilization by youth. Antitobacco advertising is a central component of many state and national tobacco prevention programs. Many of these programs have contributed to a reduction in youth uptake. The mass media has also been effectively to promote tobacco utilization. The task for public health professionals is to determine how to increase the effectiveness of anti-tobacco media efforts and decrease the effectiveness of pro-tobacco media efforts in order to reduce the still alarming prevalence of smoking in the population. Such efforts require the development of valid measures of exposure so that various approaches can be compared and evaluated. This session includes four presentations that detail investigations into youth exposure to both pro and antitobacco media. King describes methods for determining the level of youth exposure to tobacco brand advertisements in magazines. Sargent presents research on quantifying the level of smoking in popular movies and determining variables that account for variation in youth exposure. Wakefield describes a method for assessing youth exposure to televised antitobacco advertisements in the top 50 -75 media markets in the United States. Biener presents efforts to assess exposure to antitobacco television advertisments using data from a telephone survey of Massachusetts teenagers. Following the presentations, the panel will engage the audience in a discussion of emerging issues.

Learning Objectives:

At the conclusion of this session the participant will be able to 1)Describe current research on the evaluation of state and national antitobacco media campaigns; 2)Define the concept of Gross Rating Points;
• Describe tobacco promotion efforts in movies and in magazines; 4)Discuss problems associated with measuring media exposure.

Keywords: Tobacco Industry, Media Campaigns

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.