Do Smokers Recall Source or Quitline on Cigarette Constituent Messages?

Area of Science:

• Public Health Communication
• Tobacco Control Research
• Behavioral Science

Background:

• The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is mandated to communicate tobacco risks.
• Limited research exists on effectively communicating tobacco constituents in media campaigns.
• Strategies to enhance campaign effectiveness for adult smokers are needed.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine strategies for increasing the effectiveness of media campaigns on tobacco constituents.
• To assess the impact of engagement text on smoking cessation and FDA source attribution.
• To inform FDA's communication efforts regarding tobacco risks.

Main Methods:

• An eye-tracking study was conducted with 211 current cigarette smokers.
• Participants viewed messages about cigarette constituents with varying engagement text and FDA source.
• Recall of the national quitline number and message source was assessed post-viewing.

Main Results:

• Messages including engagement text significantly improved recall of the national quitline number.
• The presence of engagement text was a key factor in quitline recall.
• Recall of the FDA as the message source was minimal.

Conclusions:

• Engagement text focused on smoking cessation effectively increases quitline recall.
• This finding is crucial for leveraging public health resources for smokers.
• Campaign messages can be optimized to promote cessation resources.