News Release

By DAVID WILLIAMSON
UNC News Services

CHAPEL HILL -- Efforts to persuade children and adolescents not to use tobacco should receive a strong boost this week as University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill researchers release encouraging results of the first in-depth study of a statewide, paid antismoking media campaign.

Funded by the N.C. Health and Wellness Trust Fund, the television campaign focused on the serious health consequences of tobacco use. It took place between April and October 2004.

Dr. Adam Goldstein, associate professor of family medicine at the UNC School of Medicine, presented his team’s evaluation of the effort Monday (May 2) at an American Cancer Society briefing in Raleigh. His colleagues also will discuss the findings Friday (May 6) at the 2005 National Conference on Tobacco in Chicago.

"Evaluation of North Carolina’s campaign by the UNC Tobacco Prevention and Evaluation Program showed that the campaign reached 45 percent of all youth in the state between ages 11 and 17, representing almost 360,000 young people," Goldstein said.

The data revealed significant results in solidifying resolve among non-smokers to remain that way, he said. A pre-campaign survey identified youth who were not especially susceptible to smoking. The post-campaign survey revealed that among that group, those who saw the ads were significantly more likely to remain non-smokers than were those who had not seen the ads.

"Virtually all the experimentation in smoking that occurred in non-susceptible, non-smoking youth at baseline occurred among those unaware of the campaign," said Goldstein, also director of the medical school’s tobacco prevention and evaluation effort. "This translates into approximately 9,000 fewer youths experimenting with tobacco than might have occurred without their having seen the campaign. Ultimately, this would translate into almost $4 million of cost savings in preventing future tobacco-related diseases among North Carolina citizens."

Researchers named their 2004 ad campaign "Tobacco Reality Unfiltered," or ""TRU." The N.C. Health and Wellness Trust Fund, established in 2001 to allocate 25 percent of the Master Tobacco Settlement, sponsored the media campaign as part of its statewide teen tobacco prevention and cessation initiative. The trust fund also pays for UNC’s ongoing study of campaign effectiveness.

"It is exciting that we appear to be seeing an early and positive effect of the campaign," said Dr. George Gamble, tobacco evaluation program associate director. "That's good news on many fronts since smoking continues to be the leading cause of premature death and unnecessary suffering among people in North Carolina and the United States."

The UNC study involved random-sample surveying of more than 600 N.C. youth via telephone, before and after the television campaign, along with 14 diverse focus groups statewide to discuss the campaign ads.

The findings showed:

• A greater percentage of youth in the Charlotte area -- 53 percent -- reported awareness of the campaign than those in other N.C. media markets. That difference is significant because, as a test for future campaign expansion, more anti-smoking announcements aired around Charlotte.
  
• Among youths, almost 55 percent of non-whites, compared with 40.5 percent of whites, recalled the messages.
  
• Awareness of the TRU campaign, slogans and brand increased substantially over the past two years. Across the state, TRU is now recognized by an estimated 439,000 young people ages 11 to 17.

Analysis of focus group responses revealed that the most effective ad in the campaign was called "Travelogue," and its effectiveness was traced to its graphic and emotional depiction of smoking’s serious health consequences. The ad showed North Carolinians sharing their own experiences with tobacco use and represented a cross section of youth.

"The focus groups show that the campaign is scientifically sound, and in the future it should produce even more effective campaigns to prevent tobacco use," Goldstein said. "Given our state’s high rates of youth smoking, it is essential that the N.C. Health and Wellness Trust Fund expand its mass media campaign in 2005 so that statewide exposure can reach the level that Charlotte received in 2004. By applying lessons learned, an expanded campaign stands an excellent chance of reducing tobacco consumption significantly in coming years."

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Note: Goldstein can be reached at (919) 966-4090 or adam_goldstein@med.unc.edu.

News Services contact: David Williamson, (919) 962-8596