Interpersonal pressure generated by highly and moderately emotional advertisements has also been positively associated with salient quitting thoughts. This included a systemic review that examined 17 reviews of mass media campaigns and youth smoking published up to the mid-2008. A considerable body of research since the 2000s has related commercial TV ratings data (that is, More recently, researchers have used time series analyses to examine the effects of public education campaign exposure on smoking prevalence and other quitting behaviours over long time periods. Fewer than two exposures per month can increase inequities (where higher SES groups make more quit attempts than lower SES groups), while 2–3 campaign exposures acts to maintain disparities between SES groups.

Published Date: 4 April 2019 Last modified on May 6, 2020

Advertisements evoking moderate or high levels of emotion may also be more likely to stimulate interpersonal pressure from family and friends on smokers to quit, and this pressure can increase the likelihood of quit attempts. Whether tobacco-control campaigns should primarily focus on youth (because most people start smoking before 18 years of age) or on adults (who make up the vast majority of current smokers) has previously been the focus of extensive debate. of public health campaigns Background There is renewed interest in the possibility of achieving policy goals through behaviour change. Public education campaigns have relatively short-term effects on quitting behaviour; evidence shows that repeated cycles of broadcasting are required to achieve sustainable population changes in smoking behaviour.

With its long history of running mass media-led campaigns to discourage smoking, Australia’s contribution to the evidence base about population-level effectiveness has been an important one. Emerging evidence from Australia has examined levels of potential campaign exposure and quit attempts across socio-economic group.


A time series analysis of monthly smoking prevalence in Australia over 11 years to 2006 found that greater population exposure to televised media campaign advertising was associated with a faster decline in adult smoking prevalence, after adjusting for variation in tobacco prices, smokefree restaurant laws, tobacco marketing restrictions and availability of smoking cessation products. Advertising research reveals that the effects of advertising linger over the days and weeks after broadcast ends. The overarching goal of the campaign is to educate the public about how the science and application of psychology benefits society and improves lives.
Public awareness campaigns are strategically planned to reach a target audience and to communicate a specific message tailored to that group.

Studies that relate exposure to commercial television with data on smoking prevalence A time-series analysis of Australian smoking prevalence and monthly tobacco control GRPs provided some early guidance. Call volumes increased in response to negative campaigns only after a threshold of 400 GRPs per month was achieved. A time series analysis observed a marked decline in use of smoking cessation support services following a freeze on public education campaign spending. Recent work has tended to first categorise anti-smoking messages by purpose in order to identify the most effective message strategy. All rights reserved.Examining the effectiveness of public education campaignsTobacco use among Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait IslandersThe construction and labelling of Australian cigarettesThe pricing and taxation of tobacco products in Australia For Life’ Sydney–Melbourne pre–post trial in the early 1980s (see Section 14.0), A growing body of research confirms that, to have an effect at a population level, campaigns need to be broadcast at sufficient intensity and duration (see Section 14.4.3). The first national study of the effects of state-sponsored campaigns across the US, found that it was important that youth were exposed to an anti-tobacco advertisement at a minimal mean exposure rate of at least one advertisement every four months to maintain anti-smoking attitudes and beliefs, and to reduce smoking behaviour.

In 2014, APA added a new campaign initiative, Psychology: Science in Action, that demonstrates how translational science is unique to psychology and helps people in all areas of their lives.Advancing psychology to benefit society and improve lives Youth-targeted campaigns can also be effective in maintaining reductions in youth smoking.

Thank you also to Dr Sally Dunlop and Professor Melanie Wakefield for advice and comments on an earlier version this section, and to Dr Emily Brennan for assistance in identifying relevant research, and advice and feedback on the most recent update.