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Tobacco Industry Ads Have Boomerang Effect

A new study published online October 31 by the American Journal of Public Health (AJPH) finds that the tobacco industry's television ads purporting to discourage youth smoking are ineffective at best and that the industry's ads targeted at parents actually encourage kids to smoke.

The two major conclusions of the study are:

* Tobacco industry "prevention" ads targeted at youth are ineffective and do not change smoking outcomes.

* Tobacco industry ads targeted at parents have a harmful effect on older youth, lower youth perceptions about the danger of smoking, and increase the likelihood of youth smoking.

Other key points:

* This study is the first to examine how youth are affected by parent-targeted ads sponsored by the tobacco industry.

* The study found that among 10th and 12th graders, higher exposure to the parent-targeted ads was associated with:

  1. A lower perceived harm of smoking
  2. A stronger approval of smoking
  3. Stronger intentions to smoking in the future, and
  4. Greater likelihood of having smoked in the past 30 days.

ITPC will host an Indianapolis-area news conference on Wednesday, November 1, at 10:00 am at the Walker Theater in Indianapolis to discuss the implications of this study to our tobacco control work in Indiana. Kevin Hart, nationally known comedian, will join us to make comments. A Voice youth that recently attended the Action Speaks 2006 Voice Youth Summit will talk about the study.

This study is a wake-up call for Indiana. We need to fund real tobacco prevention programs rather than let the tobacco companies manipulate our kids with their phony ads. If we do not fund our own prevention and public education program the tobacco industry will be the only voice speaking to our kids about smoking. Indiana's tobacco prevention program is currently funded at 69% below the CDC's recommended level.

This study shows that not only do tobacco industry ads not work, their ads aimed at parents actually backfire on teen smoking. In light of these findings, the tobacco companies should immediately stop their phony prevention programs. Tobacco companies should just stay away from our children.

Indiana's youth prevention campaigns work. Over 80% of youth surveyed in 2005 said they recognized Indiana's tobacco prevention campaigns. Kids who recognize Voice, Indiana's youth movement against big tobacco, are 13 times more likely to think that smoking is not cool.

Following a federal judge's ruling in August that the tobacco companies have lied - and continue to lie - about the health risks of their products and their marketing to children, this study is another reminder that the tobacco companies have not changed and continue to mislead the public at every turn. Tobacco industry sponsored ads are clearly intended to clean up the industry's image, not to reduce youth smoking.

The AJPH study analyzed data collected in the United States from 1999 to 2002, a period when Philip Morris and Lorillard were broadcasting youth-targeted "prevention" ads and Philip Morris was broadcasting parent-targeted ads. While the youth-targeted ads are no longer being aired in the U.S., Philip Morris has recently broadcast these ads in other countries, and Philip Morris continues to air parent-targeted ads in the U.S. The tobacco companies' so-called "prevention" programs have also included radio and magazine ads and materials distributed to medical offices, schools and civic organizations. The tobacco companies should immediately terminate all of these programs, and schools and other organizations currently involved with these programs should cease their participation.

The new study is the first to examine how youth are affected by parent-targeted ads sponsored by the tobacco industry. The researchers used Nielsen Media Research television ratings data to measure youth exposure to the tobacco industry's youth and parent-targeted television ads. They then compared these levels of exposure to youth smoking attitudes and behavior as measured by school surveys of 8th, 10th and 12th graders conducted as part of the federal government's annual Monitoring the Future survey. The final sample size for the study was 103,172 students. The researchers adjusted their analysis for factors other than tobacco company prevention ads that might have had an effect on youth smoking, including smoke-free laws, cigarette prices and other TV advertising about not smoking.

The study was conducted by researchers at Bridging the Gap, a policy research program based at the University of Illinois at Chicago and the University of Michigan. The National Cancer Institute, the National Institute on Drug Abuse and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation funded the study. The study will also appear in the December print edition of the American Journal of Public Health.