Media campaign to reduce children's exposure to secondhand smoke in low-income families

Mass media campaigns are an effective tobacco control strategy, however, campaigns for low-income audiences must be tailored to meet their specific needs. In 2009, The Colorado State Tobacco Education and Prevention Partnership (STEPP) designed and launched a comprehensive SHS reduction campaign for low-income parents who smoke. The campaign was based on targeted marketing research with low-income Caucasian, Hispanic and African American parents who smoke in the proximity of their children. The research revealed important information about the knowledge, attitudes and beliefs of this population. These parents view smoking as an antidote to the difficult circumstances of daily life. These populations are skeptical of health messages and quickly dismiss health communication messages that they find incongruent with their life experiences. Campaign concepts were tested with the target audience to find the most effective messages. In order to influence behavior, secondhand smoke reduction messages for low-income parents who smoke, needs to address four key areas, 1) information that explains how SHS travels and can not be cleared by opening windows and doors, 2) that SHS contains dangerous poisons, 3) that SHS has negative health effects, even for children with no visible health problems, and then finally, 4) parents can reduce their children's exposure to secondhand smoke by always stepping outside to smoke. The session will detail the test market research, view TV spots, radio scripts and print media for the campaign.