Page 70 - Social Marketing for Public Health Global Trends and Success Stories

57977_CH02_final.qxd:Cheng 11/5/09 4:36 PM Page 43

Outcomes 43

OUTC OM ES

A growing body of research has proven the efficacy of truth®. Research has
found that the truth® Campaign accelerated the decline in youth smoking rates
between 2000 and 2004. According to research published online in February
2009 by the American Journal of Preventive Medicine (AJPM), truth® was di-
rectly responsible for keeping 450,000 teens from starting to smoke during its
first four years. A second study released through AJPM in February 2009 found
that the campaign not only paid for itself in its first two years, but also saved be-
tween $1.9 and $5.4 billion in medical care costs to society.
In addition, research released in September 2007 found that the truth®
Campaign may also be changing teens’ perceptions about how common
smoking is among their peers. A study conducted by RTI International and
funded by the American Legacy Foundation indicated that teens exposed to
the truth® Campaign have a more accurate view of the number of their peers
who smoke. Teens with less exposure to the campaign believed smoking was
more common among people their age. The study, “Association Between
National Smoking Prevention Campaigns and Perceived Smoking Prevalence
Among Youth in the United States,” appeared in the Journal of Adolescent
Health. The finding is good news for the truth® Campaign, because teens’ per-
ception of peer smoking has been shown to predict future smoking.
According to an article published on January 22, 2008, in Health
Education Research, teens who were exposed to the American Legacy
Foundation’s national truth® youth smoking prevention campaign were more
likely to harbor negative feelings toward the tobacco industry and more likely
to intend not to smoke. The study expanded on previous research published in
the American Journal of Public Health in 2002, Getting to the Truth: Evaluation
of National Tobacco Countermarketing Campaigns, that looked at a 10-month
period of the campaign. This 2008 study looks at an extended period of three
years in which more than 35,000 young people aged 12 to 17 were polled
on their attitudes toward truth®. The 2002 study showed that after only 10
months, exposure to the truth® Campaign increased young people’s anti-
tobacco attitudes and beliefs. This result was borne out again in the new study,
which found that teens aware of the truth® Campaign were nearly twice as
likely to say they did not intend to smoke in the future. The data showed that
approximately 70% of teens were aware of the campaign over the three-year
period. As in the prior study, the 2008 study examined nine tobacco-related
beliefs and attitude items, including such points as “cigarette companies lie,”
“not smoking is a way to express independence,” and “taking a stand against