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Classified in: Health
Subjects: NPT, SVY, AVO

truth® Campaign Successful in Saving Lives and Preventing Youth Smoking


WASHINGTON, Dec. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- With research showing that almost 99 percent of adult smokers start by age 26, Truth Initiative® ? the national nonprofit dedicated to making tobacco a thing of the past ? reveals today in new research published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health that brand equity of the organization's award-winning truth campaign prevented more than 300,000 U.S. youth and young adults from becoming smokers during 2015-2016.

Truth Initiative. (PRNewsFoto/Truth Initiative)

truth, one of the largest and most successful youth smoking prevention campaigns in history, goes toe-to-toe with an industry that spends more than $8 billion each year to market tobacco products in the U.S., and billions more across the globe. truth exposes the facts about the health and social consequences of tobacco use and the marketing tactics of the industry behind it. 

This new research finds that building brand equity among teens not only improves message recall, but also influences behavioral outcomes. Youth and young adults who feel more favorably toward the truth brand are less likely to be current smokers, and for those who do smoke, the research shows that they are more than twice as likely to report intentions to quit within one year.

"We are proud that this once again confirms the power of the truth campaign to create social change and save lives," said Robin Koval, CEO and president at Truth Initiative. "We're inspiring young people to end the smoking epidemic for good by exposing the tactics of the tobacco industry, giving teens facts about smoking that are relevant to their lives today and empowering them to use their creativity and social influence to share the message at scale."  

The recently published report finds that:

"Unlike many other health-related campaigns, truth fully embraces branding to help raise awareness and engagement with our message given the current crowded and multi-platform media environment. Branding is a promising and growing strategy that has been employed by commercial marketers, but has not been completely adopted by many health promotion efforts," said Donna Vallone, Ph.D., M.P.H., chief research officer at Truth Initiative and lead author on the study. "This study provides compelling evidence that our branding approach has helped young people reject tobacco." 

Since 2000, truth has spoken to youth and young adults in a voice and through the channels they understand and trust. The truth campaign is continuously evolving to meet young people with contextually and culturally relevant messages recognizing that the youth target is one of the most elusive to reach, given that it completely turns over every 10 years.

In 2014, truth reinvented itself for a new generation of late-stage millennials and Gen Z with its "FinishIT," campaign, aimed at empowering youth and young adults to be part of a movement to make their generation the one that finally ends smoking. Through our multi-channel program, truth rallied a volunteer army of youth and young adults to use their influence and creativity to de-normalize smoking among their peers. The campaign connects with youth culture and seeks to connect smoking and the effects of tobacco to the things young people really care about, such as relationships, pets, money and social justice. truth is known for its bold tone, use of pop-culture celebrities and online influencers. Over the past three years, the campaign has connected its smoking prevention message to everything from getting "left swiped" on a dating app, to the potential dire effects of secondhand smoke on pets and the subsequent elimination of cat videos from the Internet, a phenomenon, truth labeled "CATmageddon." Since the re-launch of the truth campaign in 2014, its behavior-changing videos have been viewed over a billion times.

Most recent campaigns include:

About Truth Initiative
Truth Initiative is a national public health organization that is inspiring tobacco-free lives and building a culture where all youth and young adults reject tobacco. The truth about tobacco and the tobacco industry are at the heart of our proven-effective and nationally recognized truth® public education campaign, our rigorous and scientific research and policy studies, and our innovative community and youth engagement programs supporting populations at high risk of using tobacco. The Washington D.C.-based organization, formerly known as Legacy, was established and funded through the 1998 Master Settlement Agreement between attorneys general from 46 states, five U.S. territories and the tobacco industry. To learn more about our work speaking, seeking and spreading the truth about tobacco, visit truthinitiative.org.

About truth
truth is one of the most successful and one of the largest national youth tobacco prevention campaigns. The campaign exposes the tactics of the tobacco industry, the truth about addiction, and the health effects and social consequences of smoking. truth gives teens facts to make their own informed choices about tobacco use and inspires them to use their creativity in the fight against tobacco. The campaign is credited with preventing hundreds of thousands of teens from starting to smoke, and is working to make this the generation that ends smoking for good. To learn more, visit thetruth.com. truth is part of Truth Initiative, a national public health organization dedicated to achieving a culture where all youth and young adults reject tobacco. To learn more about Truth Initiative's work speaking, seeking and spreading the truth about tobacco, visit truthinitiative.org.

 

SOURCE Truth Initiative


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