Policy advocacy to eliminate smokeless tobacco sponsorship in five California rodeos: Results from a 3-year study

This presentation will describe the results of a three-year evaluation of the Public Health Institute's Buck-Tobacco (BT) Sponsorship Project – the only rodeo-based anti-smokeless tobacco statewide campaign in the U.S. In 2003, the BT Project was created to eliminate sponsorship by the smokeless tobacco industry of rodeos and related events such as rodeo-themed "bar nights” in California. Project funds were derived from three litigation settlements with the smokeless (chew) tobacco industry. The project consisted of three major intervention components; 1) funding of several local-level policy advocacy projects, 2) training of project staff with media advocacy materials developed by the Berkeley Media Studies Group (BMSG), and 3) a social marketing campaign developed by the San Francisco based Public Media Center. The local BT projects focused on very popular rodeos in the California communities of Poway, Livermore, Santa Maria, Salinas, Oakdale, and San Luis Obispo (SLO). The SLO Cal-Poly rodeo was the only college-based rodeo among the projects. The priority populations were rodeo organizing committees/boards, business owners in the communities surrounding rodeos, and community members and college students concerned about tobacco use. This presentation will describe the extent and type of tobacco industry sponsorship activities encountered, the type of local-project organizing, media, and policy advocacy strategies used with rodeo boards, and the lessons learned from the successful and unsuccessful policy advocacy and social marketing experiences of each project. Evaluation-based recommendations for future interventions against the smokeless tobacco industry's sponsorship of rodeos and rodeo-related events will also be provided.