Evaluation of a poster campaign against passive smoking for World No-Tobacco Day

Four hundred posters on passive smoking were placed on billboards in the streets of Geneva, Switzerland, for 2 weeks in 2001. We conducted a postal survey before and immediately after the campaign, in Geneva and Neuchatel. The Geneva sample (n = 834) was exposed to the campaign while the Neuchatel sample (n = 1121) acted as a control group. Following the poster campaign, 36% of respondents in Geneva reported having seen posters about smoking prevention, compared to 18% beforehand (P < 0.001). Corresponding figures in Neuchatel were 18% (after) and 13% (before). The difference in before-after change between the target and control groups was significant (P < 0.001). The poster had no effect on cigarette consumption or intention to quit. The poster was widely seen and remembered by the target audience, but the campaign was probably too short and isolated to have an impact on smoking behaviour.