Elsevier

Addictive Behaviors

Volume 24, Issue 2, March–April 1999, Pages 293-297
Addictive Behaviors

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“Ready to quit chew?” smokeless tobacco cessation in rural nebraska

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0306-4603(98)00043-4Get rights and content

Abstract

A quit-chew media campaign was conducted in a 10-county region of south-central Nebraska. The campaign involved television and radio appearances, newspaper articles, and paid billboard advertisements. Smokeless tobacco users who called a toll-free helpline were provided quitting resources. Twelve months after the campaign ended, follow-up contact was completed with 104/205 (51%) of chewers who received the quit kits. A majority (70%) reported making some change, such as using less or switching brands, and 49% had made a quit attempt. The point prevalence quit rate was 11.5%.

Section snippets

Background

“Harvest for a Lifetime!” was a cancer-control program directed by the Chronic Disease Division of the Nebraska Department of Health (NDH). The program targeted farm families in a 10-county region in south-central Nebraska. The purpose of the program was to reduce specific risk behaviors associated with three types of cancer: oral, skin, and the hematapoietics (leukemia and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma).

A 1992 Nebraska Health Department survey of health and safety behaviors, conducted in 18 rural

Results

Between January and December 1994, a total of 250 quit kits were mailed; of these, 205 were identified as users of smokeless tobacco; the remaining callers were determined to be spouses, girlfriends, or friends of chewers. A decision was made to only contact chewers who were mailed a quit kit. A telephone follow-up during December 1995 was completed with 104 (50.7%) of the chewers who had received a quit kit. Of the subjects who did not complete a follow-up survey (n = 101), 45 did not have

Discussion

Billboards can be an effective method of reaching a wide audience with a very simple message. However, billboard advertising is seldom free. Development of the message can be time-consuming if you research your audience thoroughly and learn to what message they will most likely respond. The use of paid outdoor advertising in rural south-central Nebraska was able to reach smokeless tobacco users who were interested in quitting, and to engage users to make a quit attempt. The conservative

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This project was supported in part by a grant (U03/CCU706134) from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Dr. Boyle was supported by grants (DA 07097 and DA 09259) from the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

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