The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #71211

Sherry Emery, PhD¹, Yvonne Terry-McElrath, MSA², Glen Szczypka¹, Melanie Wakefield, PhD³, Henry Saffer, PhD⁴, Frank Chaloupka, PhD⁵, Lloyd Johnston, PhD², and Patrick O'Malley, PhD². (1) Health Research and Policy Centers, University of Illinois at Chicago, 850 W Jackson Blvd., Suite 400, Chicago, IL 60607, 312 413-0298, slemery@uic.edu, (2) Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, Survey Research Center, Room 2341, 426 Thompson Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48104-2321, (3) Anti-Cancer Council of Victoria, Centre for Behavioural Research in Cancer, 100 Drummond Street, Carlton, Victoria, 3053, Australia, (4) National Bureau for Economic Research, 365 Fifth Avenue 5th Floor, New York, NY 10017-5405, (5) Health Research and Policy Centers (M/C 275), University of Illinois at Chicago, 850 West Jackson Blvd, Suite 400, Chicago, IL 60607-3025

Youth across the US have been exposed to a variety of anti-smoking and smoking cessation television advertisements: a) state health departments and the American Legacy Foundation (tobacco control ads); b) pharmaceutical company advertisements promoting aids to quit smoking; and c) tobacco industry-sponsored ads designed for the stated purpose of reducing youth smoking. There is little evidence about the impact of tobacco control media campaigns on youth, and less is known about the effects of tobacco industry anti-smoking advertisements or ads for pharmaceutical quitting aids.

Variations in exposure to tobacco-control, tobacco-industry and pharmaceutical advertising across media markets and over time present a natural experiment with which to study the impact of exposure to such ads on youth smoking beliefs, and attitudes. This project used gross and targeted ratings points (GRPs and TRPs) to measure potential exposure to individual smoking-related advertisements at the media-market level. These data were matched to individual student-level data on anti-smoking ad recall and smoking attitudes and beliefs from the Monitoring the Future (MTF) surveys from 1998-2000. Results indicate significant relationships exist between potential exposure and youth smoking-related attitudes and beliefs, and that such relationships vary based on the sponsor of the ad.

Funded by the NCI State and Community Tobacco Control Initiative (#RO1 CA86273-01)

Learning Objectives:

• 1. Describe types of television anti-smoking and smoking -related messages to which youth in the US are exposed
• 2. Assess the relationship between volume and type of anti-smoking- and smoking-related television advertisements and youth anti-smoking ad recall and smoking attitudes and beliefs.
• 3. Discuss implications for design and implementation of tobacco control media campaigns

Keywords: Tobacco Policy,

Related Web page: www.impacteen.org/media/home.htm

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.