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The impact of media campaigns on smoking cessation activity: a structural vector autoregression analysis
Author(s) -
Langley Tessa E.,
McNeill Ann,
Lewis Sarah,
Szatkowski Lisa,
Quinn Casey
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
addiction
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.424
H-Index - 193
eISSN - 1360-0443
pISSN - 0965-2140
DOI - 10.1111/j.1360-0443.2012.03958.x
Subject(s) - helpline , tobacco control , medicine , smoking cessation , nicotine replacement therapy , advertising , vector autoregression , pharmacy , hotline , control (management) , over the counter , family medicine , environmental health , public health , business , emergency medicine , nursing , telecommunications , management , pathology , computer science , economics , monetary economics , medical prescription
Aims To evaluate the effect of tobacco control media campaigns and pharmaceutical company‐funded advertising for nicotine replacement therapy ( NRT ) on smoking cessation activity. Design Multiple time series analysis using structural vector autoregression, J anuary 2002– M ay 2010. Setting E ngland and W ales. Data sources Tobacco control campaign data from the C entral O ffice of I nformation; commercial NRT campaign data; data on calls to the National Health Service ( NHS ) stop smoking helpline from the D epartment of H ealth; point‐of‐sale data on over‐the‐counter ( OTC ) sales of NRT ; and prescribing data from T he H ealth I mprovement N etwork ( THIN ), a database of UK primary care records. Measurements Monthly calls to the NHS stop smoking helpline and monthly rates of OTC sales and prescribing of NRT . Findings A 1% increase in tobacco control television ratings ( TVRs ), a standard measure of advertising exposure, was associated with a statistically significant 0.085% increase in calls in the same month ( P = 0.007), and no statistically significant effect in subsequent months. T obacco control TVRs were not associated with OTC NRT sales or prescribed NRT . NRT advertising TVRs had a significant effect on NRT sales which became non‐significant in the seasonally adjusted model, and no significant effect on prescribing or calls. Conclusions Tobacco control campaigns appear to be more effective at triggering quitting behaviour than pharmaceutical company NRT campaigns. Any effect of such campaigns on quitting behaviour seems to be restricted to the month of the campaign, suggesting that such campaigns need to be sustained over time.