A national mass media smoking cessation campaign: effects by race/ethnicity and education

To assess the effectiveness of a large-scale, national smoking cessation media campaign, the EX campaign, across racial/ethnic and educational subgroups.

A longitudinal random-digit-dial panel study conducted prior to and 6 months following the national launch of the campaign.

The sample was drawn from eight designated media markets in the United States.

The baseline survey was conducted on 5616 current smokers, aged 18 to 49 years, and 4067 (73% follow-up response rate) were resurveyed at the 6-month follow-up.

The primary independent variable is confirmed awareness of the campaign advertising, and the outcome variables are follow-up cessation-related cognitions index score and quit attempts.

Multivariable logistic and linear regression analyses were conducted within racial/ethnic and educational strata to assess the strength of association between confirmed awareness of campaign advertising and cessation-related outcomes.

Confirmed awareness of campaign advertising increased favorable cessation-related cognitions among Hispanics and quit attempts among non-Hispanic blacks, and increased favorable cessation-related cognitions and quit attempts among smokers with less than a high school education.

These results suggest that the EX campaign may be effective in promoting cessation-related cognitions and behaviors among minority and disadvantaged smokers who experience a disproportionate burden of tobacco-related illness and mortality.