Recall of Anti-Tobacco Advertisements and Effects on Quitting Behavior: Results From the California Smokers Cohort

Abstract

IntroductionEvidence indicates that anti-tobacco advertisement can be an effective way of encouraging smokers to quit smoking, but the majority of this evidence uses aggregate measures of assessing advertisement exposure rather than exposure to specific advertisements. ObjectiveUsing a sample of California Adults (18-64 years) (n = 2596), we sought to assess recall of four anti-tobacco television advertisements developed by the California Tobacco Control Program (CTCP) and assess how recall of each advertisement predicted quitting behavior after one year. ResultsCompared to three other ads, more respondents recalled an advertisement depicting a girl who transforms into a women with a whole in hear throat, as a women explains how she was targeted by the tobacco industry at a young age (58.5% vs 23.1%, 23.4% and 25.6%; p <0.0001). Respondents who reported seeing this advertisement at baseline had a higher probability of making a quit attempt between baseline and follow-up (Adjusted Risk Ratio (aRR): 1.18; 95% Confidence Interval (CI): 1.03 to 1.34) and a higher probability being in a period of smoking abstinence for a month at follow up (aRR: 1.55; 95% CI: 1.02 to 2.37). This association was not found for recall of other television advertisements. ConclusionProducing even one television advertisement with a spokesperson who discusses their personal negative experience with tobacco may be recalled by large portion of the smoking population and may have an impact on cessation.

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Media exposure and tobacco product addiction beliefs: Findings from the 2015 Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS–FDA 2015)

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