Every Cigarette Is Doing You Damage
The Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals Tobacco Control Program in partnership with Quit With Us, Louisiana, has launched a media campaign funded by the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control’s Office of Smoking and Health to educate Louisiana residents about the harmful effects of tobacco use and offer cessation help and support through the Louisiana Tobacco Quitline (1-800-QUIT-NOW).
This media campaign features images that may seem a little disturbing to some, but research shows hard-hitting ads that illustrate the negative effects of smoking motivate behavior change among smokers and promote smoking cessation. After all the goal of the campaign is not to use scare tactics, but to motivate Louisiana residents who smoke to quit and to call the Louisiana Tobacco Quitline for assistance.
Important Facts about the damages caused by tobacco use.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. Why does the Louisiana Tobacco Control Program run hard-hitting ads with graphic images?
Research shows hard-hitting ads illustrating the negative effects of smoking motivate behavior change among smokers and promote smoking cessation. This is an evidence-based approach to motivate smokers to quit.
Marketing researchers at the University of Arkansas, Villanova University and Marquette University surveyed more than 500 U.S. and Canadian smokers and found that the highly graphic images of the negative consequences of smoking have the greatest impact on smokers’ intentions to quit. The most graphic images, such as those showing severe mouth diseases, including disfigured, blackened and cancerous tissue, evoked fear about the consequences of smokers and thus influenced consumer intentions to quit.1
Studies of anti-drug media campaigns have consistently found that messages perceived as intense, graphic, and suspenseful—considered high in perceived message sensation value—elicit greater levels of stimulation.2 Research on antismoking campaigns has shown a direct association between high sensation ads and the recall of ads among youth. 3
Studies have further suggested that the use of high sensation ads, particularly those that use intense images to depict the negative health consequences of smoking, are effective in promoting smoking cessation. 4
Q. Why did you select these particular images for the campaign?
The “teeth” image seen above is the mouth of a patient with severe periodontitis. According to a study in the Journal of Periodontology and numerous other reports, current smokers are about four times more likely than people who have never smoked to have advanced periodontal disease. A large proportion of adult periodontal disease may be preventable through cessation or never starting smoking in the first place. 5
The other image is one of a patient who had a tracheotomy. People who smoke or use tobacco are at risk of developing throat cancer. Excessive alcohol use also increases risk. Smoking and drinking alcohol combined lead to an increased risk for throat cancers. 6
Q. How is this advertising campaign being funded?
The ad campaign is funded by a grant from the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control’s (CDC) Office on Smoking and Health (OSH).
Q. When and where will the ads run?
The ads are running on billboards statewide. They began running in January 2010 and will run until the end of March 2010, though they may stay up longer if they are not immediately taken down by individual billboard companies.
Q. What are the goals of the ad campaign?
The goal is to motivate Louisiana residents who smoke to quit and to call the Louisiana Tobacco Quitline (1-800-QUIT-NOW) for help quitting.
Q. What is the Louisiana Tobacco Quitline?
The Quitline offers free telephone and online counseling to help individuals quit smoking successfully. It is funded by the Louisiana Tobacco Control Program (LTCP) and The Louisiana Campaign for Tobacco-Free Living (TFL). Louisiana residents can call the Quitline at 1-800-QUIT-NOW (784-8669), 24 hours a day, 7 days a week or visit www.QuitWithUSLA.org.
Q. How much does the tobacco industry spend on advertising in Louisiana each year?
In Louisiana alone, the tobacco industry spends more than $291.5 million on marketing annually. (Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, 2008)
1 University of Arkansas, Fayetteville (2010, November 20). Graphic images influence intentions to quit smoking.ScienceDaily. (Retrieved February 24, 2011, from http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/11/101119205212.htm)
2 Donohew, L. Lorch, E.P., & Palmgreen, P. (1998). Applications of a theoretic model of information exposure to health interventions. Human Communication Research, 24, 454-468.
3 Niederdeppe, J., K.C. Davis, M.C. Farrelly, and J. Yarsevich. (2007). “Stylistic Features, Need for Sensation, and Confirmed Recall of National Smoking Prevention Advertisements.” Journal of Communication 57:272-292.
4 Wakefield, M.B. Flay, M. Nichter, and G. Giovino. (2003). “Effects of Antismoking Advertising on Youth Smoking: A Review.” Journal of Health Communication 8(3): 229-247.
5 http://www.perio.org/consumer/smoking.htm
6 http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/001042.htm
2 Donohew, L. Lorch, E.P., & Palmgreen, P. (1998). Applications of a theoretic model of information exposure to health interventions. Human Communication Research, 24, 454-468.
3 Niederdeppe, J., K.C. Davis, M.C. Farrelly, and J. Yarsevich. (2007). “Stylistic Features, Need for Sensation, and Confirmed Recall of National Smoking Prevention Advertisements.” Journal of Communication 57:272-292.
4 Wakefield, M.B. Flay, M. Nichter, and G. Giovino. (2003). “Effects of Antismoking Advertising on Youth Smoking: A Review.” Journal of Health Communication 8(3): 229-247.
5 http://www.perio.org/consumer/smoking.htm
6 http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/001042.htm
