Antismoking advertising is increasingly used, but its message content is controversial. In an initial study in which adolescents coded 194 advertisements, the authors identified seven common message themes. Using protection motivation theory, the authors develop hypotheses regarding the message theme effects on cognitions and intentions and test them in an experiment involving 1667 adolescents. Three of the seven message themes increased adolescents’ nonsmoking intentions compared with a control; all did so by enhancing adolescents’ perceptions that smoking poses severe social disapproval risks. Other message themes increased health risk severity perceptions but were undermined by low perceived vulnerability.

Sponsors of tobacco use prevention ad campaigns should consider using ads showing tobacco-related disease and suffering, not just counterindustry ads. Ads should be copy tested before airing.

This article addresses the following issues: Can an anti-smoking campaign that depends largely on mass media vehicles effectively reduce adolescent tobacco use? Why is an integrated campaign recommended and what are the steps in designing such a campaign? How should the campaign be evaluated? Specific topics include recommended campaign expenditures, target audience identification, selection of persuasive message content, executional (stylistic) considerations, media buying decisions, the use of focus group research and advertising copy-testing research, and outcome evaluations. It is concluded that comprehensive strategic planning and extensive research at all phases of the campaign are essential to success.

Students participated were 402. Precourse and postcourse evaluations showed improvement in team participation values, critical event knowledge, and 94 percent of participants reported learning useful skills. Qualitative responses evidenced positive response; most frequent recurring comments concerned value of interprofessional experiences in team communication and desire to incorporate this kind of education earlier in their curriculum. Students demonstrated improvement in both knowledge and attitudes in a critical event response course that includes interprofessional instruction and collaboration. Further study is required to demonstrate sustained improvement as well as benefit to clinical outcomes.

Objective-To assist in planning antismoking advertising that targets youth. Using five US state campaigns, one US research study, and a Canadian initiative as exemplars, an attempt is made to explain why certain advertising campaigns have been more cost eVective than others in terms of reducing adolescent smoking prevalence. Several factors which prior research and theory suggest may be important to cost eVectiveness are examined. Specifically, three variables pertaining to the advertising message (content, consistency, and clarity) and two variables related to the advertising execution or style (age of spokesperson and depiction of smoking behaviour) are studied. Design-A case study approach has been combined with supplemental data collection and analysis. To assess campaign eVects, published articles and surveys of adolescent smoking prevalence in campaign versus control (non-campaign) locations were utilised. Adolescent subjects provided supplemental data on the advertising message variables. Trained adults content analysed each advertisement to assess the executional variables. Subjects-A total of 1128 seventh grade (age 12-13 years) and 10th grade (age 15-16 years) students participated in the supplemental data collection eVort. Results-An anti-smoking advertising campaign initiated by Vermont researchers was found to be the most cost eVective in that it significantly reduced adolescent smoking prevalence at a low per capita cost. Next in order of cost eVectiveness were California, Massachusetts, and Florida because behavioural outcomes were inconsistent across time and/or grades. California was ranked higher than the other two because it spent less per capita. Minnesota and Canada were ineVective at reducing adolescent smoking prevalence, and no comparison outcome data were available for Arizona. Four factors were found to be associated with increased cost eVectiveness: (1) a greater use of message content that prior research suggests is eYcacious with youth; (2) a more concentrated use of a single eYcacious message; (3) an avoidance of unclear messages; and (4) an increased use of youthful spokespeople that adolescents could more readily identify with. No indication was found that depictions of smoking undermined campaign eVectiveness by inadvertently implying that smoking was prevalent. Conclusions-The highly cost eVective Vermont campaign can be used as a model for future eVorts. It is estimated that 79% of the Vermont advertisements conveyed eYcacious messages, 58% concentrated on a single eYcacious message, 70% showed youthful spokespeople, and only 4% contained unclear messages. The results suggest that, in the less eVective campaigns, as few as 25% of the advertisements contained messages that prior research indicates should be eYcacious with youth, as few as 10% of the advertisements focused on one eYcacious message, and up to 32% of the advertisements lacked clearcut messages.(Tobacco Control 2000;9(Suppl II):ii18-ii31)