Impact of a Social Marketing Campaign on Public Support for Smoking Bans in Louisiana

Objective: To determine the impact of a social marketing campaign on increasing non-smokers' support for banning smoking in public places.

Methods: The first phase of a high intensity mass media campaign was implemented between March and December 2005 with advertising costs of about $1 million. The second phase of the campaign was implemented between February and May 2006 with advertising costs of about $400,000. A pre-test post-test non-experimental design was used. About 2,490 male and female respondents were interviewed using the random digit dialing methodology across 4 survey waves conducted in March, June and December 2005 and in June 2006.

Results: Recall of advertising messages about the dangers of SHS increased significantly after the initiation of the campaign. Beliefs in the negative effects of SHS and in the right of non-smokers to speak up against exposure to SHS became more prevalent within 9 months of the initiation of the campaign. Significant increases occurred in the support for smoking bans and in the likelihood of asking friends and family not to smoke. Women, African Americans and older respondents (those over 30) were more likely to support bans against SHS.

Conclusions: A social marketing campaign contributed to increasing public support for banning smoking in public places. Women, African-Americans and those aged 30 and older are the strongest supporters of bans against smoking in public places in Louisiana. The findings highlight the importance of focusing on policy changes to ban smoking in public places.