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FDA launches tobacco use prevention campaign targeting multicultural youth

2016; Wiley; Volume: 122; Issue: 6 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1002/cncr.29929

1097-0142

Carrie Printz,

Smoking Behavior and Cessation

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has launched a national public education campaign designed to prevent and reduce tobacco use among young people. Th e eff ort is aimed at multicultural youth, a group that is typically diffi cult to reach but frequently exposed to pro-tobacco images and messages. Th e health burdens of tobacco use disproportionately aff ect minority teens, particularly African American and Hispanic youth, says Jonca Bull, MD, the FDA's assistant commissioner for minority health. The “Fresh Empire” campaign targets adolescents and teens aged 12 to 17 years, an age at which smoking experimentation can easily lead to addiction. Tobacco use is almost always initiated during adolescence, according to the FDA, with close to 90% of established adult smokers having smoked their fi rst cigarette by age 18 years. Using a variety of interactive marketing strategies, including traditional paid media, multiple digital platforms, and local outreach, the campaign associates living tobacco free with a hip hop lifestyle. Television advertisements and local events feature infl uential members of the community to communicate that message. Th e advertisements fi rst aired nationally in conjunction with the 2015 BET Hip Hop Awards in October. Th e $128 million campaign, which is funded by tobacco user fees, will run in approximately 36 markets throughout the United States for at least 24 months. Mitch Zeller, director of the FDA's Center for Tobacco Products, notes that “remaining in control” is an important tenet of hip hop culture and smoking represents a lack of control. Th e campaign reinforces its message by empowering at-risk youth to live tobacco free, while also being authentic, powerful, confi dent, fashionable, creative, and trendsetting. “Fresh Empire” is part of the FDA's general-market at-risk youth education campaign, “Th e Real Cost,” which began in February 2014. Both campaigns are evaluated to measure their eff ectiveness in preventing and reducing youth smoking over time.