title: Understanding how mass media campaigns impact on smokers.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To explore the immediate impact of the 2001 National Tobacco Campaign (NTC) advertising on movement towards quitting in a broadly representative sample of smokers.
  
  
  METHODS
  Repeated measures design with surveys two weeks apart. 1000 current smokers aged 18-40 were interviewed. 250 telephone interviews were conducted in each of Sydney and Melbourne (both unexposed at initial survey) and Brisbane and Adelaide (both exposed at initial survey) to measure frequency of negative thoughts about smoking and passive smoking, positive thoughts about smoking, and thoughts about the conduct of tobacco companies; perspective on change; and thoughts and actions about quitting.
  
  
  RESULTS
  At the initial survey, those in regions exposed to the campaign were more advanced in thoughts about quitting. Between surveys, 33% progressed toward cessation and 21% regressed. 69% of participants reported recalling NTC advertising at follow up, which was significantly associated with greater self reported quitting activity and a greater increase in frequency of negative thoughts about smoking.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results show increased frequency of negative thoughts about smoking and an increase in quitting related thoughts and actions following onset of the NTC campaign. There was also evidence of sustained increase in cessation activity for a month following onset of the campaign. This all occurred in the context of considerable naturally occurring smoking cessation activity, suggesting that the challenge of campaigns in Australia is to induce progress toward quitting among people who are generally engaged with the issue at some level, rather than attempt to stimulate fundamentally new consideration of smoking.
authors.affiliation: VicHealth Centre for Tobacco Control, The Cancer Council Victoria, 1 Rathdowne Street, Carlton Victoria 3053, Australia. ron.borland@cancervic.org.au
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Borland
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Balmford
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000329:Advertising / Q000379:methods*; D001294:Attitude to Health; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000379:methods*; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008402:Mass Media; D011939:Mental Recall; D011379:Prognosis; D012008:Recurrence; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D012907:Smoking / Q000523:psychology; D016540:Smoking Cessation / Q000523:psychology*; D000074606:Smoking Prevention; D013689:Telephone; D013850:Thinking