Oklahoma "Tobacco Stops with Me"Media Campaign Effects on Attitudes toward Secondhand Smoke

Public education campaigns in tobacco control play an important role in changing tobacco-related knowledge, attitudes and behaviors. The Oklahoma Tobacco Stops with Me campaign has been effective in changing attitudes overall and across subpopulations towards secondhand smoke risks.

Investigate campaign impact on secondhand smoke policy and risk attitudes.

Serial cross-sectional data analyzed with univariate and multivariable models.

Random-digit dialing surveys conducted in 2007 and 2015.

Oklahomans 18-65 years old.

1) Support for smokefree bars; 2) risk assessment of secondhand smoke (very harmful, causes heart disease, causes sudden infant death); and 3) likelihood of protecting yourself from secondhand smoke.

With Tobacco Stops with Me exposure, from 2007 to 2015, Oklahomans demonstrated significant increases in: 1) supporting smokefree bars (23.7% to 55%); 2) reporting beliefs that SHS causes heart disease (58.5% to 72.6%), is very harmful (63.8% to 70.6%) and causes sudden infant death (24% to 34%); and 3) reporting they are very likely to ask someone not to smoke nearby (45% to 52%). Controlling for demographics, smokers and males showed reduced attitude change. In uncontrolled comparisons, high-school graduates faired better than non-diploma individuals, who lacked significant attitude changes.

Tobacco Stops with Me achieved its mission to more closely align public perception of SHS with well-documented secondhand smoke risks. Efforts to target women were particularly successful. Smokers may be resistant to messaging; closing taglines that reinstate individual choice may help to reduce resistance/reactance (e.g., adding Oklahoma Helpline contact information).