I recently came across a fascinating new study that shows the power of television advertising in encouraging people to quit smoking. Published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, the study results suggest that smokers who are exposed to graphic and/or emotional TV ads are more likely to attempt to quit smoking than smokers who don't see the ads. Nearly 9,000 smokers in the state of New York took a survey for this study. The researchers discovered that both the amount and type of ads that smokers saw mattered to their desire to quit, but exposure to graphic and/or emotional ads had the greatest impact. I found it particularly interesting that how much a smoker claims he/she wants to quit did not change the impact of the ads, and neither did education or income level. This study has great implications for our tobacco control work. Now we have significant evidence for what we've seen to be true. Do you remember the Tips from Former Smokers campaign? These national graphic and emotional ads, which the CDC's Office for Smoking and Health developed with Prevention and Public Health Fund funding, were very impactful in directing calls to state quitlines. They featured real-life stories of people who are suffering from the significant health consequences of smoking. Because of its initial success, the CDC is considering another iteration of this campaign in 2013. The findings in this study come at a very important time as the public health community fights to defend strong, graphic warning labels on cigarette packs to warn people about the dangers of smoking. Although large, graphic warnings are required under the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, tobacco companies are fighting hard to throw the new labels out. The outcome of this study just provides further evidence that the graphic warnings could be incredibly effective at encouraging people to stop smoking. I'm hopeful that as the federal case addressing this issue goes through appeals, evidence like this and the impact these graphic warnings could have on public health is considered. With this new evidence, I would urge all tobacco control advocates to consider using the power of graphics and emotional appeals to fight back against an industry that is responsible for killing nearly 440,000 people in America each year. Together with enacting comprehensive smoke-free laws, consistently and significantly increasing tobacco taxes and funding proven cessation programs we can help people quit smoking and avoid a devastating battle with cancer.
Today’s blog is one of a series of posts highlighting how ACS CAN is examining, prioritizing and pursuing policy interventions that ensure everyone has an equal opportunity to prevent, find, treat and survive cancer. Achieving health equity in communities nationwide is a cornerstone of our mission.