Brief ReportsMassachusetts’ advertising against light cigarettes appears to change beliefs and behavior
Section snippets
Methods
Random-digit dialing telephone surveys were conducted with adults (>18) in MASS (n=500) and in the rest of the continental U.S. (n=501), selecting one respondent per household using the last-birthday method.2, 3 Using Advertising Research Foundation procedures,6 response rates were 77% and 79%, refusal rates were 5% and 6%, and cooperation rates were 94% and 93% for MASS and the U.S. Ex-smokers (<1 year; n=59 [MASS], n=47 [U.S.]) and those reporting smoking cigarettes “some days” (n=50 [MASS], n
Results
Tests showed no reliable group differences for age, gender, or years of education. Overall, mean age was 39 ± 14 (SD), N=1001; mean years of education was 13 ±2.5 (SD); and 55% of the sample was female.
Compared with the U.S., MASS smoked marginally fewer cigarettes each day (p<0.06, two-tailed), smoked higher machine-smoked tar-yield cigarettes (Mann-Whitney U, p<0.05), and had more, recent ex-smokers (p<0.05) (Table 1). Within MASS, ad viewers smoked the same number of cigarettes; reported
Discussion
This was not a random-assignment experimental study. We also depended on unconfirmed self-reports of seeing ads, although our ad viewers do seem to have learned from these ads. Our multivariate analyses can’t control for other unmeasured factors that may explain MASS–U.S. or within-MASS differences. In addition to a tax increase, MASS has conducted a complex media campaign involving dozens of different approaches. Viewing the anti-light ads may be correlated with viewing other anti-smoking ads.
Acknowledgements
Data collection for this project was supported by funding from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. Thanks go to Andrew Strasser for assistance with data management. For information on using these ads, contact John Carroll (301-231-7537, x 234, Fax: 301-984-8527), Resource Center, Cygnus Corporation, 5640 Nicholson Lane, Suite 300, Rockville, MD, 20852.
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