Youth Awareness of AntiSmoking Messages in the Mass Media

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Background Rationale

• Mass media anti-smoking campaigns are a
  promising and costly tool for health promotion
• Design has been guided primarily by focus groups
• Scientific research is limited regarding what
  factors impact awareness and effectiveness of
  media campaigns

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The Indiana Anti-tobaccoMedia Campaign

• Indiana Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Agency
  began a media campaign in 2002
• 8 million budgeted for the first 2 years
• Television, radio, print and billboard media
  venues
• Baseline data used for this study

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Venue
TV
Mediating Factors Confounding Factors
Aware
Duration Intensity
Radio

• Message
• Theme
• -Emotion

Print
Billboards
Not Aware
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Research Aims

• To identify mediating and confounding factors
  that are associated with youths awareness of
  anti-smoking messages in the mass media
• To evaluate whether such factors vary by media
  venue
• Television
• Print Media
• Radio
• Billboards

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Methods

• Telephone survey was conducted in 2001
• Representative sample of Indiana youths (n610)
• Stratified by age, gender, race, and geographical
  region
• Weighted to allow valid and reliable inferences
  to be made to the states youth population

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Methods (contd)

• Analysis was conducted using SPSS 11.5
• To measure the association between media
  awareness for each media venue and numerous
  variables
• Using the chi-square test of independence

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Methods (contd)

• Instrument measured various tobacco-related
  aspects
• Anti-smoking media awareness
• Demographics
• Tobacco-related knowledge
• Tobacco-related attitudes/beliefs
• Smoking behavior/susceptibility

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Survey Approach

• Conducted by the Indiana University Public
  Opinion Laboratory
• Telephone numbers selected with high probability
  of youths living at home
• Interviewers obtained permission from
  parent/guardian before interviewing youth
• Standard instructions given to both the
  parent/guardian and the targeted youth

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Outcome Variable Awareness
During the past 30 days, how many commercials
have you seen/heard about NOT smoking cigarettes?

• Asked separately for each media venue
• TV
• radio
• print media
• billboards
• Responses dichotomized to none or some

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Results Awareness
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Ad Think?
Did this advertising make you think about whether
or not you should smoke?

• Nearly three-fourths agreed that the messages did
  make them think about whether or not to smoke

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Results Demographics

• Awareness of anti-smoking messages among the
  youths
• Differed significantly by
• age group 15-17 years
• race
• parental education
• No significant association seen in the
• age group 12-14 years
• gender

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Results Demographics (contd)

• 15-17 years were less aware of messages on
  billboards
• White, non-Hispanics were more aware of messages
  in print media and on billboards
• Youths with one or both parents who have higher
  education were more aware of messages on the radio

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Results Knowledge

• 14 items
• 11 items were agree or disagree
• 9 showed no significant association
• Range of correct responses 80.6-100
• 2 differed significantly
• 3 items were factual statements with no
  significant association
• Range of correct responses 15.6-40.6

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Results Knowledge (contd)

• Those aware of messages on TV and radio more
  often agreed that people are affected by the
  costs of tobacco-related problems
• Respondents aware of messages on TV more often
  agreed that tobacco is as addictive as other drugs

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Results Attitudes/Beliefs

• 18 items
• 10 items showed no significant association
• Range of correct responses 77.1-100
• 8 items differed significantly

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Results Attitudes/Beliefs (contd)

• Industry Manipulation
• Youths who were aware of messages on
• TV more often believed that tobacco ads
  influenced youth to smoke
• the radio were less likely to attend events, even
  if they were sponsored by tobacco companies

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Results Attitudes/Beliefs (contd)

• Autonomy
• Youths who were aware of messages on
• the radio were more likely to say they could
  easily refuse cigarettes, if offered
• the radio were more likely to participate in
  community activities against tobacco use

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Results Attitudes/Beliefs (contd)

• General Exposure
• Youths who were aware of messages on
• the radio more often agreed that exposure to
  second-hand smoke is a serious problem
• the radio more often agreed that tobacco use by
  young people is a serious problem
• TV were less likely to agree that smoking makes
  young people look cool
• TV were less likely to agree that smoking makes
  young people more popular

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Results Smoking Behavior

• 8 items
• 5 items showed no significant association
• 3 items differed significantly
• Non-users were more aware of anti-tobacco
  messages

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Results Smoking Behavior (contd)

• Youths who had
• NEVER tried cigarette smoking were more aware of
  anti-smoking messages on billboards
• NOT smoked cigars during the past 30 days were
  more aware of anti-smoking messages on
  billboards than those who had used tobacco
  products
• NOT chewed tobacco in the past 30 days were more
  aware of anti-smoking messages on TV than those
  who had used tobacco products

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Interpretation Cautions

• Recalled exposure vs. actual exposure
• Awareness does not always equal effectiveness

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Summary

• Most were aware of TV media messages and
  two-thirds were aware of messages in other media
  venues
• Most agreed that media messages did make them
  think about whether or not they should smoke
• Non-users were more aware of anti-smoking messages

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Summary (contd)

• A few demographic characteristics and beliefs
  were significantly related to the level of
  message awareness
• Respondents were generally knowledgeable and held
  strong anti-smoking/anti-tobacco beliefs

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Conclusions

• Media messages did not have a great effect on
  knowledge or beliefs of youths
• Media messages did make them think about whether
  or not they should smoke
• Targeted approach towards specific
  sub-population groups

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