Texas Tobacco Prevention Iniative - Media Campaign and Community Program Effect Amoung Children and Adults

Abstract:
To give the Texas Legislature information about how the state's tobacco settlement income can be used to improve health by promoting reductions in tobacco use, the Texas Department of Health and collaborating university research institutions conducted a field experiment to evaluate the short-term (spring to autumn 2000) effects of media and community programs on tobacco use among children and adults. This report presents the estimated effects of three levels of media activity (no campaign, low level campaign or high level campaign) and five community program options (no programs, cessation programs, law enforcement programs, school-community programs or all three programs combined). These media activities and community programs were provided either singly or in combination in fourteen areas in Texas at annual per capita media and/or program costs of $0.50 to $3.00. In studies of 9,799 6th graders in their first year of middle school and 7th graders in their first year of junior high school, school-community and multiple programs showed evidence of significant prevention effects which appeared to be enhanced by a high-level media campaign. In studies of 1,069 adult smokers, the highest daily smoking cessation rate was seen in the areas where high level media campaigns were combined with community programs to promote cessation. In random sample surveys of 16,139 adults, a significant relative reduction in the prevalence of daily smoking was found in the area where a high level media campaign was conducted in combination with either school-community or multiple programs. Overall, the results show that significant short-term reductions in tobacco use among children and adults can be achieved with combinations of high level media campaigns and multiple community programs.


Date Published: 1/1/2001

Pages: 9

Comments:
Also available on the University of Texas at Houston's website at: www.tdh.state.tx.us/otpc/Pilot/Rep2.pdf

Location Code: 8413