Keeping Cigarettes Away From Young People Through Media Campaigns

Public Health Achievements

What factors accounted for the control of tobacco in the U.S. Currently, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about 42.1 million Americans smoke cigarettes, which is about 18.1% of all adults (18 or over). About 20.5% of men smoke cigarettes and 15.8% of women smoke cigarettes (Liss, 2013).

the information environment -- mass media and counter-advertising. There is no doubt that media campaigns have a positive impact when it comes to anti-smoking campaigns. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that the first year of the federal government's national advertising campaign called "Tips from Former Smokers" "exceeded expectations; an estimated 1.6 million cigarette smokers attempted to stop smoking. Of those, about 100,000 actually succeeded in quitting, and that information came from a study published by the medical journal, The Lancet. Moreover, the campaign run by the CDC reportedly "inspired millions of nonsmokers to encourage friends and family members" to give up the habit. Interestingly, this was the very first attempt by the federal government of the U.S. To fund a national media campaign to urge people to give up smoking cigarettes (Liss, p. 1).

It cost $54 million to run the campaign, which is dwarfed by the estimated $8.8 billion that is spent promoting cigarettes by the tobacco industry. One of the key points of campaigns like the one in 2012 is to prevent young people from starting the habit. "Mass media campaigns prevent children from smoking" and they also help smokers give it up, which saves lives of course and also saves money spend on public health (Liss, p. 1).

TWO: Taxes on cigarettes -- the economics. The World Bank reports that increasing taxes actually does reduce "…the number of smokers and the number of smoking-related deaths" (World Bank). Heavy taxation also "induces" some smokers to give it up, and taxes reduce the number of ex-smokers from returning to their habit. Young people in particular cut back on smoking when the taxes on cigarettes climb high.

THREE: Do regulatory restrictions on smoking in public places deter minors? NBC News reports that young people that live in towns with "strict bans" on public smoking are "40% less likely to become regular smokers" than young people in towns where there are no public restrictions on lighting up (Associated Press).

FOUR: Prevention and treatment programs -- what school-based programs are there for quitting smoking? One good way for schools and community health groups to provide cessation programs is through the Affordable Care Act (ACA). There are provisions in the ACA that require new health care plans and Medicaid plans to offer cessation programs.

FIVE: In the physical and social environment are there mass media campaigns for smoke-free environments? The World Health Organization has a training package which "facilitates strategic planning and action" to promote comprehensive local legislation to protect the public and employees from second-hand tobacco smoke (WHO).