Posted Feb 17, 2009
“Truth,” a national youth smoking-prevention campaign, likely prevented 450,000 adolescents from taking up smoking, according to a new study by researchers at RTI International in Research Triangle Park.
The study used data from the ongoing National Longitudinal Survey of Youth that interviewed almost 9,000 adolescents annually from 1997 to 2004. The participants ranged in age from 15 to 20 when the “truth” campaign was launched in February 2000.
The results of the study suggest that from 2000 to 2004 there were 450,000 fewer youths who began smoking as a result of the campaign. The researchers also found that for each $544 spent on the campaign during its first four years, one adolescent refrained from smoking.
The campaign spent $245 million on television advertising from 2000 through 2004, highlighting tobacco industry marketing tactics and facts about the dangers of cigarette smoking. The ad campaign was funded by the American Legacy Foundation.
Date: Fe15, 2009
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