Cochrane Review: Mass media interventions for preventing smoking in young people

Abstract

BackgroundThe mass media have been used as a way of delivering preventive health messages. They have the potential to reach and to modify the knowledge, attitudes and behaviour of a large proportion of the community.ObjectivesTo evaluate the effectiveness of mass media interventions to prevent smoking in young people in terms of reduced smoking uptake, in addition to secondary outcomes including improved smoking outcomes, attitudes, behaviours, knowledge, self‐efficacy and perception.Search methodsWe searched the Cochrane Tobacco Addiction Group Specialised Register and conducted additional searches of MEDLINE and EMBASE in July 2010.Selection criteriaRandomized trials, controlled trials without randomization and time series studies that assessed the effectiveness of mass media campaigns (defined as channels of communication such as television, radio, newspapers, bill boards, posters, leaflets or booklets intended to reach large numbers of people and which are not dependent on person to person contact) in influencing the smoking behaviour (either objective or self‐reported) of young people under the age of 25 years.Data collection and analysisInformation relating to the characteristics and the content of media interventions, participants, outcomes, methods of the study and risk of bias was abstracted by two independent reviewers. Studies were combined using qualitative narrative synthesis.Main resultsSeven out of a total of 84 studies reporting information about mass media smoking campaigns met all of the inclusion criteria. All seven studies used a controlled trial design. Three studies concluded that mass media reduced the smoking behaviour of young people. All of the effective campaigns had a solid theoretical basis, used formative research in designing the campaign messages, and message broadcast was of reasonable intensity over extensive periods of time.Authors' conclusionsThere is some evidence that mass media can prevent the uptake of smoking in young people, however the evidence is not strong and contains a number of methodological flaws.Plain Language SummaryCan mass media campaigns (television, radio, newspapers, billboards and booklets) deter young people from starting to smokeCampaigns which researched and developed their message to reach their target audience had a higher success rate than those which did not. Overall, effective campaigns lasted longer with a minimum of three consecutive years, and were also more intense than less successful ones for both school based lessons (minimum eight lessons per grade) and media spots (minimum 4 weeks' duration across multiple media channels with between 167 and 350 TV and radio spots). The timing and type of broadcast made a difference to their success, with older youths in one study preferring radio to television. Implementation of combined school based curriculum/components (i.e. school posters) and the use of repetitive media messages delivered via multiple channels (i.e. newspapers, radio, television) over a minimum period of three years contributed to successful campaigns. Changes in attitudes, knowledge or intention to smoke did not generally seem to affect the long‐term success of the campaigns.

Perceptions of students regarding the effects of the implementation of the tobacco control act of 1999 on a South African University campus

“…Previous reports show that mass media campaigns that target the young are effective in preventing the uptake of smoking in young people and that these campaigns which portray smoking in a bad light should include multiple channels of communication such as newspapers, television, radio, posters and information booklets. 16 Our finding that the teenage years are the most likely age when people start smoking is supported by a similar study in 2005. 17 Stress was the most common reason mentioned for commencement of smoking.…”

A cost‐effectiveness analysis of online, radio and print tobacco control advertisements targeting 25–39 year‐old males

“…T he progressive decrease in smoking rates in developed nations has been attributed in part to mass media campaigns that have informed the public of the dangers of tobacco use 1–3 . In Australia, for example, a sustained program of public education since the 1970s has seen a reduction in the number of regular smokers from 36% in 1977 to 16% in 2010 4–6 .…”

Health Promotion in the Age of Social Media: Evaluation of Word Press as a Platform for Developing Postgraduate Student Skills

“…The use of the new media for health promotion has been driven by the belief that the character of media offers opportunities for changes in health behaviour. However, research has found mixed results and drawn attention to the need to improve the skills of practitioners in this field [4][5][6].…”