Recorded presentation

Cheryl Healton, DrPH, President and CEO, American Legacy Foundation, 2030 M Street, NW, 6th Floor, Washington, DC 20036, 202-454-5555, chealton@americanlegacy.org, Matthew C. Farrelly, PhD, Center for Economics Research, RTI International, 3040 Cornwallis Road, P. O. Box 12194, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709-2194, Kevin Davis, MA, Tobacco Use Research Program, Research Triangle Institute, 3040 Cornwallis Rd, Durham, NC 27709, Peter Messeri, PhD, Joseph L. Mailman School of Public Health, Sociomedical Sciences Division, Columbia University, 600 West 168 St, New York, NY 10032, and Lyndon Haviland, PhD, Chief Operating Officer, American Legacy Foundation, 2030 M Street, NW, 6th Floor, Washington, DC 20036.

Background: In early 2000, the American Legacy Foundation launched a national tobacco counter marketing campaign called truth® to discourage tobacco use among youth. The truth campaign is marketed as a youth brand that emphasizes blunt messages such as the tobacco industry’s efforts to obscure the health effects of tobacco. Methods: We use data from the 1997-2002 Monitoring the Future (MTF) surveys to relate trends in youth smoking to varying market-level doses of the truth® campaign. The MTF study includes yearly, national samples of approximately 45,000 students in 8th, 10th, and 12th grades. Using these data, we estimate a series of multivariable models that relate market-level truth® exposure to current smoking prevalence. All analyses control for race, grade, secular trends in smoking, state-level tobacco control funding and taxes, and media market indicator variables. Results: Findings indicate that the truth® campaign may account for a significant portion of the recent decline in youth smoking. We found that smoking prevalence among all students combined declined from 25.8% to 18.0% between 2000 and 2002 and that the truth® campaign accounted for approximately 24% of this decline. Furthermore, the association between the truth® campaign and youth smoking was strongest among 12th grade students, accounting for 43% of the decline in 12th grade smoking prevalence. Implications: This study suggests that the truth® campaign has accelerated recent declines in youth smoking.

Learning Objectives:

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• Identify the potential impact of tobacco counter marketing on youth smoking and (
• Assess the value of using similar approaches in state tobacco control programs.

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I have a significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.
Relationship: Legacy Employee

Recorded presentation