Evidence of a Dose—Response Relationship Between “truth” Antismoking Ads and Youth Smoking Prevalence
Open accessAbstract
Objectives. In early 2000, the American Legacy Foundation launched the national “truth” campaign, the first national antismoking campaign to discourage tobacco use among youths. We studied the impact of the campaign on national smoking rates among US youths (students in grades 8, 10, and 12). Methods. We used data from the Monitoring the Future survey in a pre/post quasi-experimental design to relate trends in youth smoking prevalence to varied doses of the “truth” campaign in a national sample of approximately 50000 students in grades 8, 10, and 12, surveyed each spring from 1997 through 2002. Results. Findings indicate that the campaign accounted for a significant portion of the recent decline in youth smoking prevalence. We found that smoking prevalence among all students declined from 25.3% to 18.0% between 1999 and 2002 and that the campaign accounted for approximately 22% of this decline. Conclusions. This study showed that the campaign was associated with substantial declines in youth smoking and has accelerated recent declines in youth smoking prevalence.
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Comprehensive reviews have concluded that anti-tobacco media and education campaigns can increase negative attitudes about smoking, reduce initiation of smoking among youth, and promote smoking cessation among active smokers.
“All of these reviews have concluded that such campaigns can increase negative attitudes about smoking, reduce initiation of smoking among youth, and promote smoking cessation among active smokers.”
From Population Approaches to Improve Diet, Physical Activity, and Smoking Habits: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association (2012) · cites this paper as [83]
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- Authors
- Farrelly, M. C., Davis, K. C., Haviland, M. L., Messeri, P., & Healton, C. G.
- Affiliations
- Truth Initiative (US)
- Venue
- American Journal of Public Health
- Publisher
- American Public Health Association
- Published
- 2005-03
- Volume
- 95
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 425-431
- ISSN
- 0090-0036 (ISSN-L)
- 1541-0048
- PMC
- PMC1449196
- OpenAlex
- W2127440586
- Cited by
- 500
- References
- 28
- Citations by year
- 2026: 7 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 8 · 2023: 11 · 2022: 21 · 2021: 21 · 2020: 18 · 2019: 26 · 2018: 16 · 2017: 26 · 2016: 28 · 2015: 15 · 2014: 27 · 2013: 25 · 2012: 35
- FWCI
- 21.77
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- American Journal of Public Health (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- University of Michigan
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Smoking Behavior and Cessation
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Epidemiology › Substance Abuse Treatment and Outcomes
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › Speech and Hearing › School Health and Nursing Education
- Keywords
- truth campaign, anti-smoking advertising, adolescent smoking, smoking prevalence, tobacco control, dose-response relationship, adolescent tobacco use, anti-smoking campaigns
- MeSH terms
- Smoking Prevention, Adolescent, Adolescent Behavior, Psychology, Adolescent, Advertising, Attitude to Health, Child, Female, Health Education, Health Surveys, Humans, Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice, Male, Mass Media, Population Surveillance, Surveys and Questionnaires, Smoking, Students, Television, Truth Disclosure, United States, Program Evaluation, Confounding Factors, Epidemiologic, Prevalence, Multivariate Analysis, Logistic Models, Tobacco Industry
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