New Research Shows the National truth® Youth Smoking Prevention Campaign Offset Negative Effects of Decreased State Tobacco Control Funding

4/23/2008

Washington, D.C. – According to an article published in April 2008, the launch of the national truth® youth tobacco prevention campaign in February 2000 may have offset otherwise detrimental effects of the Florida Tobacco Control Program (FTCP) budget cuts on anti-industry beliefs. Unfortunately, the funding decline at the national level makes it unlikely that the truth® campaign will be able to compensate for current and future reductions in state tobacco funding.

Between April 1998 and May 1999, the state of Florida’s "truth" anti-smoking campaign increased anti-industry attitudes and non-smoking intentions dramatically. However, after FTCP budget cuts in June 1999, recall of the state’s "truth" campaign declined and anti-industry beliefs and non-smoking intentions plateaued or began to decline after the budget cuts.

The article, “Consequences of Dramatic Reductions in State Tobacco Control Funds: Florida, 1998-2000,” published in this month’s issue of Tobacco Control, finds that the February 2000 national launch of the American Legacy Foundation’s truth® campaign may have offset the negative effects of those budget cuts on anti-industry beliefs, but not smoking intentions.

“These most recent findings only support what the Institutes of Medicine advised Congress of late last year: that a national, youth-oriented media campaign like truth® should be a permanent component of the nation’s strategy to reduce tobacco,” remarked Cheryl Healton, Dr. P.H., Legacy's president and CEO.

The Institutes of Medicine (IOM) report was presented to Congress in 2007. Entitled Ending the Tobacco Problem: A Blueprint for the Nation, it addressed the nation’s tobacco epidemic, finding that America must implement strategies that effectively reduce and prevent smoking and combine those efforts with a changed regulatory and policy landscape to fight the nation’s number-one cause of preventable death.

“The industry spends nearly 36 million dollars a day in the U.S, alone – more than the yearly budget for truth®. With 4000 teens trying their first cigarette every day, it just reinforces the critical need for campaigns like truth® to continue to be out there reaching teens with these important messages,” Healton continued. “The Florida “truth” campaign’s ground breaking approach to addressing youth smoking was the basis for the national strategy; it would be a shame to see our efforts fail due to lack of funding.”

truth® remains the only national youth smoking prevention campaign not directed by the tobacco industry. A 2007 study, published in Health Education Research, found that teens who are exposed to the national truth® youth smoking prevention campaign are more likely to harbor negative feelings towards the tobacco industry, and more likely to intend not to smoke. In addition, the study found that teens who saw Philip Morris’ “Think Don’t Smoke” advertising campaign had more favorable beliefs and attitudes toward tobacco companies.

The “Consequences” study reinforces previous research regarding the efficacy of the truth® campaign:

The December 2007 Monitoring the Future study found youth smoking rates among 8th graders have declined significantly, but that the declines for 10th graders are statistically insignificant and for 12th graders are at a stand still. For the fourth consecutive year, the rates for 10th and 12th graders stayed flat, a trend that now threatens the historic near 30-year decline in youth smoking.
Research released in September 2007 found that the truth® campaign may also be changing teens' perceptions about how common smoking is among their peers. A study conducted by RTI International and funded by the American Legacy Foundation indicated that teens exposed to the truth® campaign have a more accurate view of the number of their peers who smoke. Teens with less exposure to the campaign believed smoking was more common among people their age. The finding is good news for the truth® campaign because teens' perception of the prevalence of peer smoking has been shown to predict future smoking.
In February 2005 the American Legacy Foundation released the results of an evaluation of the national truth® campaign that was published in the American Journal of Public Health. The study found that 22 percent of the overall decline in youth smoking during the first two years of the campaign (2000-2002) is directly attributable to truth®. This equates to 300,000 fewer youth smokers in 2002 as a result of the campaign.

BACKGROUND ON THE truth® CAMPAIGN

truth®, launched in February 2000, is the largest national youth smoking prevention campaign and the only national campaign not directed by the tobacco industry. The campaign exposes the tactics of the tobacco industry, the truth about addiction, and the health effects and social consequences of smoking. truth® allows teens to make informed choices about tobacco use by giving them the facts about the industry and its products. The campaign was created by the American Legacy Foundation®, which was founded as a result of the 1998 Master Settlement Agreement between the tobacco industry, 46 states and five U.S. territories. Payments to the American Legacy Foundation® are made on behalf of the settling states.

The American Legacy Foundation, which provides strategic direction and funding for the truth® campaign, received in 2003 what is likely its final payment to the National Public Education Fund established by the Master Settlement Agreement. Despite its success, the truth® campaign now faces an unprecedented funding challenge.

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Contact: Julia Cartwright, American Legacy Foundation, 202-454-5596; Patricia McLaughlin, American Legacy Foundation, 202-454-5560