title: Testing messages to reduce smokers' openness to using novel smokeless tobacco products.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Tobacco manufacturers' aggressive promotion of new smokeless tobacco products such as snus warrants a timely and effective public health response. This study tested potential countermarketing messages to discourage current and former smokers from becoming dual users of smokeless tobacco and cigarettes.
  
  
  METHODS
  In a pretest-post-test experiment, 1836 adult current and recently former smokers from a national sample were randomised to view one of six antismokeless tobacco ads followed by a snus ad, to view a control ad followed by a snus ad; or to view two control ads. Perceived effectiveness of ads and actual changes in attitudes and openness to snus were compared across groups using analyses of variance.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Some ads that were perceived as most effective did not change attitudes or openness to trying snus, and conversely, some ads not perceived as effective changed attitudes and openness to snus. Ads portraying the negative health effects of smokeless tobacco were perceived as most effective, but ads with antitobacco industry themes significantly decreased favourable attitudes toward snus. Responses to ads were different for smokers who had ever used smokeless tobacco: for this group health effects and humorous/testimonial ads were effective.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Measures of perceived effectiveness of antitobacco ads need to be augmented with measures of actual effectiveness to assess countermarketing messages. Some of the developed ads, such as ads with anti-industry themes, were effective for the overall population of smokers whereas humorous/testimonial and health effects ads were particularly effective in changing attitudes of past users of smokeless tobacco.
authors: Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA.
authors: Lucy
authors: L
authors: Popova
authors: Department of Medicine, Center for AIDS Prevention Studies, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA.
authors: Torsten B
authors: TB
authors: Neilands
authors: Division of General Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine, Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA.
authors: Pamela M
authors: PM
authors: Ling
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000329:Advertising; D016739:Behavior, Addictive; D005260:Female; D040261:Harm Reduction; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D040541:Marketing / Q000379:methods*; D008875:Middle Aged; D016540:Smoking Cessation / Q000379:methods*; D000074606:Smoking Prevention; D014030:Tobacco, Smokeless / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Advertising and Promotion; Non-cigarette tobacco products; Social marketing