THE UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT 
Smoking Prevention Through Mass Media and School Programs

Office of Health Promotion Research 

College of Medicine 

One South Prospect Street 

Burlington, Vermont 05401-3444 

(802) 656-4187, FAX (802) 656-8826

This project was designed to assess the cigarette smoking prevention effects of television and radio messages delivered to young people developing from late childhood into adolescence. Results six years after initiation of the program demonstrated that these carefully-tailored mass media campaigns reduced cigarette smoking by over 30% through the end of high school. Cost analyses indicated that this is a highly cost-effective method for long-term reduction of cigarette smoking prevalence in young people.

Mass media messages were created using intensive diagnostic and formative research with the target audiences. All messages were based on a common set of educational objectives focused on disadvantages of smoking, refusal skills, and understanding that most kids don't smoke. Groups of messages were tailored to the specific interests of six high-risk audience' segments. The 36 television and 17 radio spots were delivered to their targeted audiences using purchased broadcast time. An average of 190 television broadcasts, 350 cable broadcasts, and 350 radio broadcasts were purchased in each of four intervention years in each media market. Purchased broadcasts were supplemented through time donated by media outlets, increasing broadcast numbers by about 50%.

The effects of these media messages were tested in a large-scale community education program. Four widely separated media markets were selected because of their matching demographic characteristics. Young people in two of these markets received the media messages over four years, plus a school smoking prevention program. Young people in two other markets received only the school program for four years. These programs began when the target groups were in grades 5-7 and continued through grades 8-10. Effects were compared between young people in the two sets of communities using school surveys throughout this period and two years later.

Results during this four-year period showed that the immediate program objectives were achieved, with the group receiving media interventions reporting attitudes and norms that were much less favorable to cigarette smoking and reporting significantly reduced prevalence of smoking. Two years after the program ended, when the target groups were in grades 10-12, the prevalence of cigarette smoking was 30% less among those receiving the media messages. Cost analyses have shown that this type of intervention compares very favorably to other forms of health interventions.

The promising results of this program have influenced smoking prevention media campaigns implemented by a variety of government agencies in this country and elsewhere. The strategies used here also are being explored for application to other health behavior problems among young people.

Narrative Description of Program 

Smoking Prevention Through Mass Media and School Programs 

University of Vermont 

These programs were developed and implemented by a university-based team with backgrounds in communication, health education, psychology, and medicine; this group worked directly with schools, media producers, and local broadcast and cable TV outlets. School programs were delivered by classroom teachers with curricula and training from the project. Strategies from this successful program have affected plans for smoking prevention programs in Minnesota, California, and Massachusetts; these methods are being studied by several national planning groups. Program material are now being used in other regions. Funding was provided by the National Cancer Institute.