Yvonne M. Terry-McElrath

Tobacco Industry Marketing at Point of Purchase After the 1998 MSA Billboard Advertising Ban

Point-of-purchase marketing has become increasingly important for the tobacco industry in the United States.1 In the wake of the 1998 master settlement agreement (MSA) that required tobacco advertising on billboards across the country to end on April 24, 1999, the point-of-purchase environment is likely to assume even greater importance in the industrys marketing efforts. One goal of the billboard advertising ban (as well as other MSA advertising and promotion restrictions) was to reduce youth exposure to cigarette advertising. However, previous research suggests that the tobacco industry is able to compensate for an inability to advertise in one medium by transferring advertising dollars to other marketing activities.2–6 Accordingly, there is concern that the MSA billboard advertising ban may merely shift tobacco advertising funding to other efforts, such as point-of-purchase marketing. In this study, we used data from a unique national sample of retailers to explore changes in the point-of-purchase environment after implementation of the billboard tobacco advertising ban.

The Effect of Antismoking Advertisement Executional Characteristics on Youth Comprehension, Appraisal, Recall, and Engagement

ABSTRACT This article examines how two executional characteristics of antismoking advertising may interact with other relevant advertising features to affect youth comprehension, appraisal, recall of, and engagement with antismoking ads. Fifty antismoking ads made by tobacco control agencies, tobacco companies, and pharmaceutical companies were appraised by 268 youth using an audience response methodology with a follow-up component. Analyses show that thematic and executional characteristics varied both across and within ad sponsor, and that executional characteristics of “personal testimonial” and “visceral negative” clearly had the strongest and most consistent effect on appraisal, recall, and level of engagement. Antismoking advertisements are not alike in their ability to engage youth. Advocates attempting to develop increasingly successful antismoking campaigns should consider the executional characteristics of proposed ads.

Energy drinks, soft drinks, and substance use among United States secondary school students

Objectives:Examine energy drink/shot and regular and diet soft drink use among United States secondary school students in 2010–2011, and associations between such use and substance use. Methods:We used self-reported data from cross-sectional surveys of nationally representative samples of 8th-, 10th-, and 12th-grade students and conducted multivariate analyses examining associations between beverage and substance use, controlling for individual and school characteristics. Results:Approximately 30% of students reported consuming energy drinks or shots; more than 40% reported daily regular soft drink use, and about 20% reported daily diet soft drink use. Beverage consumption was strongly and positively associated with past 30-day alcohol, cigarette, and illicit drug use. The observed associations between energy drinks and substance use were significantly stronger than those between regular or diet soft drinks and substance use. Conclusions:This correlational study indicates that adolescent consumption of energy drinks/shots is widespread and that energy drink users report heightened risk for substance use. This study does not establish causation between the behaviors. Education for parents and prevention efforts among adolescents should include education on the masking effects of caffeine in energy drinks on alcohol- and other substance-related impairments, and recognition that some groups (such as high sensation–seeking youth) may be particularly likely to consume energy drinks and to be substance users.

Exercise and substance use among American Youth, 1991-2009.

BACKGROUND The National Institute on Drug Abuse has called for increased research into the use of physical activity in substance abuse prevention, specifically research into physical activity type and context. PURPOSE This paper examines the relationships between (1) secondary school student substance use and (2) exercise in general and school athletic team participation, and examines such relationships over time. METHODS Nationally representative cross-sectional samples of 8th-, 10th-, and 12th-grade students were surveyed each year from 1991 to 2009. Substance use measures included past 2-week binge drinking and past 30-day alcohol, cigarette, smokeless tobacco, marijuana, and steroid use. Analyses were conducted during 2009-2010. RESULTS Across grades, higher levels of exercise were associated with lower levels of alcohol, cigarette, and marijuana use. Higher levels of athletic team participation were associated with higher levels of smokeless tobacco use and lower levels of cigarette and marijuana use across grades and to higher levels of high school alcohol and steroid use. Exercise helped suppress the undesired relationship between team participation and alcohol use; exercise and athletic team participation worked synergistically in lowering cigarette and marijuana use. Observed relationships were generally stable across time. CONCLUSIONS There appear to be substantive differences between exercise and team sport participation in relation to adolescent substance use. These findings from cross-sectional data suggest that interventions to improve levels of general physical activity should be evaluated to determine if they help delay or reduce substance use among youth in general as well as among student athletes.

Appraisal of anti-smoking advertising by youth at risk for regular smoking: a comparative study in the United States, Australia, and Britain

Objective: To compare the similarity in how youth in the United States, Australia, and Britain appraise anti-smoking advertisements with different characteristics. Design: Each participant viewed and evaluated a set of 10 anti-smoking adverts (from an overall total of 50 adverts) in a controlled experimental context using an audience response methodology. A structured telephone interview was completed one week after viewing the adverts, in which recall and engagement with the adverts by participants was evaluated. Subjects: 615 youths who were experimenting with smoking or were susceptible nonsmokers. Main outcome measures: Measures of advert appraisal and engagement. Results: Youth in the United States, Australia, and Britain responded in very similar ways to the same anti-smoking advertisements. In full multivariate models, the target audience of the advert and the advert theme were not related to the main outcome measures employed in this study. However, adverts with visceral negative or personal testimonial executional characteristics were appraised more positively by youths and were more likely to be recalled, thought about, and discussed at follow up one week later. Conclusions: Youths in three different countries responded to anti-smoking advertisements in very similar ways, suggesting that such adverts might be more actively shared among nations. The appraisal of, and engagement with, the anti-smoking adverts, however, varied substantially depending on executional characteristics. In the design of effective anti-smoking adverts, due attention needs to be paid to those characteristics that appear to most engage youth across different social and cultural environments.

State medical marijuana laws: understanding the laws and their limitations

Significant attention has been given to the debate regarding allowances for medical marijuana use since the 1996 California and Arizona ballot initiatives. State medical marijuana allowances, however, have existed since the mid-1970s. Much of the current debate stems from confusion about the various ways states approach the issue. In this paper, we present original legal research on current state medical marijuana laws identifying four different ways states statutorily enable the medical use of marijuana. We discuss the tension these approaches have with federal law as well as their implications regarding real access for patients. In addition, we present information on how a small number of states are trying to deal with the issue of access within the context of their medical marijuana laws, and discuss the implication of various supply approaches on the enforcement of other state marijuana laws.

Media Advocacy and Newspaper Coverage of Tobacco Issues: A Comparative Analysis of 1 year's Print News in the United States and Australia

Tobacco control advocates now recognize the value of influencing news coverage of tobacco; news coverage influences attitudes and behavior as well as policy progression. It is, however, difficult to assess the progress of such efforts within a single national and temporal context. Our data represent the first systematic international comparison of press coverage of tobacco issues. Tobacco articles from major daily newspapers in Australia (12 newspapers; 1,188 articles) and the United States (30 newspapers; 1,317 articles) were collected over 1 year (2001). The analysis shows that coverage in the two countries was similarly apportioned between hard news (>70%) and opinion pieces. Similarly, stories in both countries were most likely to recount positive events. The substantive focus of coverage, however, differed, as did the expression of hostile opinion toward tobacco control efforts (United States, 4%; Australia, 7.1%). Although secondhand smoke and education, cessation, and prevention efforts were covered widely in both settings, these topics dominated coverage in Australia (29.2%) more than in the United States (17.6%), where a more diffuse set of tobacco topics gained relative prominence. The difference in policy conditions seems to offer contrasting opportunities for advocates in the two countries to use newspapers to promote helpful tobacco control messages for both behavior and policy change.

Substance Use and Exercise Participation Among Young Adults: Parallel Trajectories in a National Cohort-Sequential Study

AIMS This study examined the extent to which the trajectory of participation in sports, athletics or exercising (PSAE) covaried with substance use in early adulthood controlling for team sports participation using parallel process latent growth curve modeling. DESIGN, SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS Analysis of data collected from a series of panel studies using a cohort-sequential design. Specifically, the analyses used longitudinal data from 11 741 individuals from the graduating classes of 1986-2001, first surveyed as seniors in American high schools. Up to four additional follow-up surveys were administered to age 26 years. Data were collected using in-school and mailed self-administered questionnaires. MEASUREMENTS Level of PSAE, past-30-day alcohol, cigarette and marijuana use frequency and any past-30-day use of illicit drugs other than marijuana (IOTM) were the main processes of interest. Self-reported race/ethnicity, college status at age 19/20 years, parental education, gender and team sports participation during high school were included as covariates. FINDINGS Results indicate that higher initial levels of PSAE related to lower initial substance use prevalence rates other than alcohol, and lower initial prevalence rates of substance use then corresponded with lower substance use rates throughout early adulthood. Further, as individuals increased PSAE levels throughout early adulthood, the frequency of their use of cigarettes, marijuana and IOTM correspondingly decreased. CONCLUSIONS Increased participation in sports, athletics or exercising (PSAE) is related to significantly lower substance use frequency at modal age 18 and through significantly and negatively correlated growth trajectories through early adulthood. Encouraging PSAE among adolescents and early adults may relate to lower substance use levels throughout early adulthood.

Reasons for Drug Use among American Youth by Consumption Level, Gender, and Race/ethnicity: 1976-2005

This study examined self-reported reasons for the use of nine substances among nationally representative samples of U.S. high school seniors participating in the Monitoring the Future study from 1976 through 2005. In general, social/recreational reasons were the most commonly reported reasons for the use of most drugs. However, for psychotherapeutic drugs, coping with negative affect and physical needs were reasons most commonly mentioned. Results indicated that the proportion of students reporting various reasons has shifted significantly over time. Further, we found significant differences by gender and race/ethnicity in reported reasons for use. Prevention and intervention efforts must address the facts that (1) while social usage reasons do predominate, it is essential to consider coping and drug-effect reasons for use as well; and (2) there are appreciable differences by gender and race/ethnicity in reasons for drug use.

School Physical Activity Environment Related to Student Obesity and Activity: A National Study of Schools and Students

PURPOSE To explore whether characteristics of the U.S. secondary school physical activity environment are associated with student body mass index (BMI) and physical activity. METHODS This report uses data from two studies: Monitoring the Future (MTF; an annual nationally representative survey of 8th-, 10th-, and 12th-grade public and private school students) and Youth, Education, and Society (a survey of administrators in schools that have completed their 2-year participation in the MTF study). School policies and programs related to various health issues, including physical education (PE) and sports activity, were examined for relationships with student self-reported height, weight, being active in sports, exercising vigorously, and participating in school athletics. RESULTS The results show that in 2004-2007, the percentage of students who attended schools that required PE in their grade differed sharply by grade level: 88% of 8th graders, 48% of 10th graders, and 20% of 12th graders. There were few statistically significant associations between school PE requirements and student BMI. The average percentage of students who participated in interscholastic or varsity sports was associated at the bivariate level with a lower percentage of students being overweight in all three grades. Other measures of PE and sports activity showed varying associations with BMI and physical activity measures. CONCLUSIONS Relationships between the school physical activity environment and student BMI and physical activity were not uniformly strong. We conclude that, as currently practiced in schools, existing variations in physical activity policies may not be sufficient to produce discernible school-wide differences; thus, there is a need for more vigorous PE programming than is typically provided.