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CDC Study Adds Further Proof that Hard-Hitting Media Campaigns are a Cost-Effective Way of Improving

Note: World Lung Foundation united with The Union North America. From January 2016, the combined organization is known as “Vital Strategies.”

(New York, USA) – World Lung Foundation (WLF) today welcomed a study published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which found that the CDC's “Tips from Former Smokers” media campaign helped 100,000 smokers to quit and saved about 17,000 people from a premature death in the United States. This underlines the importance of communicating the specific harms of tobacco – whether through media campaigns or graphic pack warnings on cigarettes – in encouraging smokers to quit. WLF reaffirmed its commitment to help more countries run anti-tobacco campaigns in 2015, to help combat the global tobacco epidemic.

A financial analysis of the “Tips from Former Smokers” campaign proved that it was highly cost-effective, costing only $480 per smoker who quit and $393 per year of life saved. The campaign can be seen as a particularly smart investment when compared to the cost of treating tobacco-related disease among current and former smokers. Another study published yesterday by CDC found that smoking-related health care costs the U.S. around $170 billion a year, or 8.7 percent of all health care expenditure. The majority of this expenditure is paid for by taxpayers, underlining the negative impact of tobacco on individual taxpayers and the U.S. economy. It is much more cost-effective to invest in reducing smoking prevalence.

Sandra Mullin, Senior Vice President, Policy and Communications, World Lung Foundation, commented: “We congratulate CDC on a great campaign and a great result for public health in the U.S. We hope this will encourage our lawmakers to support further federally-funded media campaigns to combat tobacco use and to re-examine the case for large graphic warnings on cigarette packs, which are also proven to be effective in encouraging smokers to quit.

“We have long argued that mass media campaigns can drive population-level behavior change in a very cost-effective way. When the messages and images appeal to the target audience and are hard-hitting, they are more likely to succeed. The “Tips” campaign was highly effective in using former smokers, talking about the impact of tobacco on their lives, to reach current smokers.

“While it’s clear that this campaign was highly cost-effective, we’d like to take this opportunity to remind governments around the world that anti-tobacco campaigns that reduce smoking can be run in an even more cost-effective way. Many existing, proven campaigns are available for a nominal or no licence fee, so governments don’t have to pay for new ads to be created. These ads can quickly and easily be tailored to local markets and some governments may be able to require broadcasters to show the campaign for little to no cost. In short, the costs per smoker who quits could be considerably less than was the case even in the U.S.

“Given the increasing health and economic burden of tobacco use, particularly in growing economies that are being targeted by the tobacco industry, a small investment in warning people about the real harms of tobacco will save lives and help the economy. We urge more countries to follow CDC’s example in running national anti-tobacco campaigns.”

 


 

About World Lung Foundation

World Lung Foundation was established in response to the global epidemic of lung disease, which kills 10 million people each year. The organization also works on maternal and infant mortality reduction initiatives. WLF improves global health by improving local health capacity, by supporting operational research, by developing public policy and by delivering public education. The organization’s areas of emphasis are tobacco control, maternal and infant mortality prevention, tuberculosis, asthma, and child lung health. For more information, please visit worldlungfoundation.org or twitter @worldlungfdn

For more information, please contact:
Tracey Johnston, World Lung Foundation at tjohnston@worldlungfoundation.org