Research

Tobacco companies spend $28 on marketing for every one prevention dollar
There is a huge gap between the amount of money states spend on tobacco prevention programs and the amounts tobacco companies are spending to market cigarettes and other tobacco products. A report published by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, the American Heart Association, the American Cancer Society, and the American Lung Association titled “A Broken Promise to Our Children: The 1998 State Tobacco Settlement Seven Years Later," states that the nation’s progress in reducing youth smoking is being jeopardized because of this disparity. Cigarette companies spend an average of $42 million per day on marketing, which is more than 47 states and the District of Columbia spend each year on their tobacco control efforts. Only four states - Maine, Colorado, Delaware and Mississippi - currently fund tobacco prevention programs at minimum levels recommended by the CDC. Five states - Michigan, Missouri, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Tennessee – and D.C. have allocated no significant state funds for tobacco prevention. Click to read the full report.

Cigarette companies use flavors to intentionally attract youth
An article in the November/December 2005 issue of Health Affairs compiles once secret company documents that reveal the tobacco industry's intention to create cigarette flavors that appeal to youth. The research was conducted by the Harvard School of Public Health and the Roswell Park Cancer Institute and was funded in part by the American Legacy Foundation. According to the report, internal documents show that cigarette manufacturers were aware of trends in flavored products such as soft drinks and snack foods and intended to apply that information in the development of new products. The report also notes how the flavors are delivered through cigarettes. Click to view the press release from the Harvard School of Public Health, or click to view the entire article.

Researchers find increase in smoking among movies rated for young audiences
According to a review conducted by researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, there is strong evidence that smoking in movies promotes youth smoking. The report, Smoking in Movies Increases Adolescent Smoking: A Review, examined 42 studies conducted between 1994 and 2005 on the issue of smoking in the movies, finding that nearly 80% of American movies rated PG-13 contain tobacco scenes. Once in decline, the number of smoking scenes have increased to levels not seen since the 1950s. The report states that on-screen smoking is responsible for 390,000 teenagers trying their first cigarette each year. The entire report by can be found in the December 2005 issue of Pediatrics. Click for a press release from UCSF.

Relationship of movie smoking to initiation among U.S. adolescents
Researchers at Dartmouth Medical School conducted a survey of 6,522 U.S. adolescents aged 10 to 14 years, finding that smoking in movies is a risk factor for smoking initiation among adolescents. Researchers found examples of movie smoking in 74% of the movies contained in a database of films released in the U.S. from 1998 - 2000. After controlling for sociodemographics, friend/sibling/parent smoking, school performance, personality characteristics, and parenting style, the researchers determined that exposure to movie smoking is the primary independent risk factor for smoking initiation in U.S. adolescents ages 10-14. Click for more information.

States with counter-industry campaigns exhibit greater youth smoking decreases
An article in the December 2005 issue of Tobacco Control shows that between 1999 and 2002, rates of current smoking and established smoking among youth decreased significantly faster in states with established or more newly funded counter-industry campaigns than in other states. Counter-industry campaigns such as the national truth® campaign appear to prime negative perceptions about tobacco industry practices. Click to view the abstract.

Cigar smoking among teens
According to a report by researchers at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, adolescents are turning to cigars in increasing numbers. The researchers state that celebrity-backed advertisements of cigars and the variety of new cigar flavors are responsible for this trend. The report can be found in the December 2005 issue of the American Journal of Public Health. Click for more information.

Best practices for enforcing state laws prohibiting the sale of tobacco to minors
A study published in the November/December 2005 issue of the Journal of Public Health Management & Practice examined best practices for enforcing public health laws prohibiting the sale of tobacco to minors. The author compared annual merchant compliance surveys to identify the highest and lowest performing states and examined state and federal documents for evidence concerning the effectiveness of different enforcement strategies. Strategies that appeared essential to high performance were: a law enforcement strategy with a state agency coordinating enforcement, state funding of test purchases for enforcement, prosecution of offenders with penalties for violating the law, and effective merchant education. The following features were not recommended: warnings in lieu of penalties for offenders, reliance upon nonfunded local enforcement, and limitations placed on enforcement authority or the conduct of test purchases. Click to view the abstract.

Evaluation of GottaQuit.com
An article in the October 2005 issue of Pediatrics evaluated a smoking-cessation media campaign Web site for teens and found the GottaQuit.com campaign effectively reached almost all teens, regardless of smoking status. Click to view the abstract.

Florida Youth Cohort Study examines accuracy of parental and youth reporting of secondhand smoke exposure
The Florida Youth Cohort Study examined the accuracy of parental and youth reports of secondhand smoke exposure by measuring cotinine levels obtained through saliva samples. Specificity ranged from 87.1–97.8. Positive predictive value, negative predictive value, sensitivity, and kappa values varied considerably by the reporting source (e.g., youth, parent, or a combination of responses), and the age and gender of the youth respondent. Agreement between youth and parent that at least one parent smoked inside the home yielded the best combination of sensitivity (85.0) and specificity (89.8) and was least affected by the age and gender of the youth respondent. Click for more information.

New NIDA survey confirms youth smoking declines have slowed
The National Institute on Drug Abuse has released the findings of the 2005 Monitoring the Future Survey. The report demonstrates that while youth smoking rates have declined significantly since peaking in the mid-1990s, over the past two years this progress has slowed considerably and may even have stalled. Over the past year, the survey found no statistically significant change in past-month smoking rates among 8th,10th or 12th graders, and more than 23%of high school seniors still smoke. This apparent stalling of progress appears to be a direct result of the fact that states have cut funding for tobacco prevention programs by more than a quarter since 2002, while tobacco companies have increased their marketing to record levels. Click to access the study website and press releases. Click for a press release by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.

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Attorneys general urge Hollywood studios to place anti-smoking ads on DVDs and videos depicting smoking
Thirty-two state attorneys general have called on major motion picture studios in Hollywood to insert anti-smoking public service announcements (PSAs) warning people of the health effects of tobacco on all DVDs, videos and other newer home viewing format movies they distribute that depict smoking. Click to view the press release from the American Legacy Foundation.

New truth® campaign hits the streets of New York
A number of truth® teens have brought cowboys to New York City by riding cows down Wall Street to highlight the “Marlboro Cow” ad that criticizes the images the tobacco industry has used over the years to glamorize cigarettes. truth®, the American Legacy Foundation®’s national youth smoking prevention campaign, has launched a new advertising campaign called truth® found. Campaign components include 30 and 60-second television ads including the “Marlboro Cow” ad, as well as ads titled “Profiles,” “Hospital Beds,” and “Good Samaritans”. The ads all focus on educating people on the street about tobacco industry practices. Click for more information or to view the truth® campaign’s website.

truth® campaign completes 6th anniversary tour
The truth® campaign recently completed it nationwide tour celebrating its 6th anniversary. The tour reached more than 800,000 teens with the truth about tobacco industry tactics in marketing tobacco products to teens. Click for more information.

Phillip Morris revises its parent training booklet
Phillip Morris has released a revised version of its 2003 parent training booklet entitled “Raising kids who don’t smoke.” The 16-page booklet deletes all references to the word “nicotine” and an important warning that youth can become hooked within a few days. For example, the earlier booklet read, “The younger people are when they start smoking, the more likely they are to become strongly addicted to smoking nicotine.” The revised language reads, "The younger people are when they start smoking, the more likely they are to develop a long-term addiction." Click for more information.

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Arkansas:
 
Increase in state spending in Arkansas tied to decrease in youth smoking rates
A decrease in smoking among Arkansas youths can be tied to an increase in state spending to fight smoking according to the state Department of Health and Human Services. The rate of smoking among high schoolers in Arkansas decreased from 34.7% in 2001 to 26.3% in 2005. The state spent $14.64 million in prevention and cessation programs during the 2005 fiscal year. Click for more information.

District of Columbia:
 
District of Columbia among states that rank last in tobacco prevention programs for youth
Joining four other states that rank last, the District of Columbia spends none of its tobacco settlement revenue on tobacco prevention programs. The rankings are part of the report detailed above, “A Broken Promise to Our Children: The 1998 State Tobacco Settlement Seven Years Later". The CDC recommends that Washington, D.C. should spend a minimum of $7.5 million per year on tobacco prevention and control. Click for more information.

Indiana:
 
Indiana funding for youth tobacco prevention falls
Once a national leader in the use of tobacco settlement money to combat teen smoking, the state of Indiana has now fallen behind 26 other states. Money that was to be used for anti-smoking efforts is now being used for budget shortages. About 25% of the states’ residents smoke, one of the highest rates in the nation. Click for more information.

Maine:
 
Youth smoking rate down 60% in Maine due to high level of funding
For the fourth year in a row, Maine has ranked first for its funding of prevention and cessation programs. As a result, the state has seen a dramatic drop in the rate of smoking in middle school and high school students. Since 1997, smoking rates among high schoolers in the state have decreased by 39%. The rate among youth in middle school has decreased by 21%. The state spends $14.2 million a year on anti-smoking initiatives, more per resident than any other state and more than the minimum amount recommended by the CDC. The state also has a high cigarette tax of $2.00 per pack. Click for more information on the decline in youth smoking rates in Maine, or for more information on anti-tobacco spending in Maine.

Oklahoma:
 
Oklahoma has increased spending on tobacco prevention programs
Oklahoma ranks 21st in spending on tobacco prevention programs, but has increased its funding. The state is expected to spend $8.9 million on tobacco prevention this year, an increase from the $4.8 million spent last year. Click for more information.

Washington:
 
Washington State youth tobacco prevention ad named ‘spot of the month’
The Washington Department of Health’s 2005-06 youth prevention television and radio advertising campaign kicked off statewide October 3, and one of the TV ads, “Park”, was declared best spot of the month by Adweek, a top advertising industry publication. The new campaign features the social consequences of smoking – a departure from previous strategies aimed at the physical dangers of tobacco use. The new campaign has no live actors in the TV spots, instead using state-of-the-art technology called stop-motion animation. Click to view a micro Web site that complements the campaign, also launched in October, and print ads and other media are being released. Click to view the ads. For more information, contact Scott Schoengarth at 360-236-3634 or scott.schoengarth@doh.wa.gov.

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