Improving Enforcement Measures and Establishing Clear Criteria: A Content Analysis of Tobacco-Brand-Owned Instagram Accounts.

Introduction: This study examines limitations of the current regulatory framework for tobacco advertising on Instagram. We first investigate compliance with Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warning label requirements for posts by tobacco-owned accounts. Next, we examine the prevalence of content that has been restricted in broadcast or print for its youth appeal, followed by content meeting more expansive criteria for youth appeal set forth in the FDA's guidance document.

Long-term drought promotes invasive species by reducing wildfire severity.

Anthropogenic climate change has increased the frequency of drought, wildfire, and invasions of non-native species. Although high-severity fires linked to drought can inhibit recovery of native vegetation in forested ecosystems, it remains unclear how drought impacts the recovery of other plant communities following wildfire. We leveraged an existing rainfall manipulation experiment to test the hypothesis that reduced precipitation, fuel load, and fire severity convert plant community composition from native shrubs to invasive grasses in a Southern California coastal sage scrub system.

Content analysis of tobacco imagery in popular music Videos, 2018-2021.

Exposure to tobacco imagery in movies and television has been identified as a key factor to youth smoking initiation (Davis, 2008; Bennett et al., 2020). This study aims to investigate the prevalence of tobacco imagery in popular music videos from 2018 to 2021.

Perceptions of and Experiences With Cigarette and E-Cigarette Use Among a Diverse Population of US Latino Adolescents and Young Adults.

Purpose: To determine potential unique factors influencing cigarette and e-cigarette use in US Latino youth.

Approach: We conducted a qualitative study assessing cigarette and e-cigarette perceptions and experiences, including experiences with/perceptions of the products, cultural influences and influences of friends and family.

Setting: Four online discussion boards, conducted in October 2020.

Developing the Message Assessment Scale for Tobacco Prevention Campaigns: Cross-sectional Validation Study.

Background: Mass media campaigns are effective for influencing a broad range of health behaviors. Prior to launching a campaign, developers often conduct ad testing to help identify the strengths and weaknesses of the message executions among the campaign's target audience. This process allows for changes to be made to ads, making them more relevant to or better received by the target audience before they are finalized.

Nicotine pouch marketing strategies in the USA: an analysis of Zyn, On! and Velo.

Introduction: Nicotine pouches are gaining popularity, yet their marketing is understudied.

Methods: Using Numerator advertising data from January 2019 to September 2021 regarding three popular brands of nicotine pouch in the USA-Zyn (by Swedish Match, introduced in the USA in July 2016), On! (Altria, August 2016) and Velo (RJ Reynolds, July 2019)-we examined (1) general advertising characteristics (eg, media type, year); (2) ad content (ie, headlines and imagery themes); (3) prominent media channels (ie, specific websites, magazines, etc); and (4) ad expenditures.

Results: There were 286 unique ads (Zyn: 44.

Educating Young Adults about Opioid Misuse: Evidence from a Mass Media Intervention.

The US opioid epidemic is a serious public health problem. Rates of opioid misuse and dependence are highest for young adults ages 18-25. Prevention strategies that reduce prescription opioid misuse while decreasing stigma around dependence and treatment are critical components of addressing the epidemic.

Early evidence of the associations between an anti-e-cigarette mass media campaign and e-cigarette knowledge and attitudes: results from a cross-sectional study of youth and young adults.

Objective: Antismoking mass media campaigns have contributed to significant declines in combustible tobacco use among young people. This study evaluates a national anti-e-cigarette campaign to determine its association with knowledge, attitudes and beliefs in the context of increasing e-cigarette use in the USA.

Methods: A national sample of respondents aged 15-24 years (n=8421) was drawn from a repeated cross-sectional online panel survey (220 participants/week) (October 2018 to December 2019).

Evidence of the impact of a national anti-tobacco prevention campaign across demographic subgroups.

Mass media campaigns are an effective population-level intervention for preventing tobacco use. However, little evidence exists for whether these campaigns similarly influence demographic subgroups. This study examined the effects of the truth® campaign to reduce tobacco use among demographic subgroups.

Effects of branded health messages on e-cigarette attitudes, intentions, and behaviors: a longitudinal study among youth and young adults.

Background: Launched in 2000, the truth campaign was one of the first health-related campaigns to embrace the building of a brand to further amplify its message, such as by building brand equity. Brand equity is an asset that represents the audience's perception of the brand. Previous research supports that strong brand equity is associated with lower tobacco intentions and behaviors; however, brand equity and its change over time have not been studied as it relates to e-cigarettes.

Identifying message themes to prevent e-cigarette use among youth and young adults.

In 2020, almost 20% of high school students reported current e-cigarette use. Mass media tobacco prevention campaigns are effective for preventing tobacco use among youth and young adults but selecting messages that will have maximum impact on the target audience is a significant challenge for campaign developers. This study describes the method for identification of potential messaging targets for a national anti-vape mass media campaign using criteria proposed by Hornik and Woolf in their health communication framework.

Prospective associations between nicotine beliefs and tobacco-related susceptibility, curiosity, and use in U.S. adults.

Low harm perceptions of tobacco products have been associated with use of those products in youth and adults, but this relationship has not been assessed for nicotine beliefs. This study used data from a national sample of adults aged 18-40 in Wave 9 (Spring 2016) of the Truth Initiative Young Adult Cohort Study to examine correlations and prospective associations between the latent classes of nicotine beliefs and susceptibility, curiosity, and use of tobacco products in 3122 adults who also completed Wave 10 (Fall 2016). At Wave 9, four latent classes of beliefs characterized the role of nicotine in the health risks of smoking: Class 1, large role, 51%; Class 2, large role/don't know, 9.

Exposure to tobacco content in episodic programs and tobacco and E-cigarette initiation.

While prior research suggests a relationship between exposure to tobacco content in movies and smoking, less is known about the impact of exposure to tobacco through episodic programs. This study assessed the relationship between exposure to tobacco content in programs on Netflix and broadcast or cable TV and initiation of combustible tobacco or e-cigarette use among young people. A nationally representative, longitudinal sample (ages 15-21 at baseline) was surveyed about exposure to episodic programs previously analyzed for the presence of tobacco and subsequent use of combustible tobacco and e-cigarettes.

Building capacity to implement tobacco-free policies in college and university settings with underserved populations.

Introduction: This study aimed to facilitate the process of policy adoption and implementation across community colleges and Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) to develop, adopt, and implement a 100% smoke- or tobacco-free policy.

Methods: In total, 135 community colleges and HBCUs took part in the program. This multiple-site case study analyzed each institution's online self-reported surveys every 6 months to record progress on each of five core project elements.

Early Evidence of an Opioid Education Campaign: A Case Study of Rhode Island.

Context: The opioid crisis poses a significant burden at a national level, and certain states have seen particularly high rates of misuse, addiction, and overdose. In 2017, Rhode Island reported opioid-related deaths nearly twice the national average.

Objective: To test message efficacy and evaluate the effectiveness of campaign messaging to shift attitudes/beliefs related to opioid misuse in Rhode Island.

Using Aggregate Temporal Variation in Ad Awareness to Assess the Effects of the truth® Campaign on Youth and Young Adult Smoking Behavior.

Mass media campaigns are one of the most effective population-level interventions for the prevention of tobacco use. However, accurately evaluating the effectiveness of these campaigns presents several challenges, particularly as campaign delivery becomes increasingly fractured across media platforms. There are a number of weaknesses associated with traditional, individual-level measures of campaign exposure in an increasingly socially networked, digital media ecosystem.

Perceptions of Use Patterns and Health Consequences Associated With Mentholated Cigarettes Among U.S. Adults.

Despite declines in overall cigarette smoking in the United States, menthol cigarette smoking prevalence has increased among young adults (18-25 years) and remains constant among older adults (26 years and older). Disparities in menthol cigarette use exist, with higher prevalence among younger adult smokers and among racial/ethnic minority populations. Menthol in cigarettes has been shown to play a role in increasing smoking initiation and making it more difficult to quit smoking.

Latent Classes of Nicotine Beliefs Correlate with Perceived Susceptibility and Severity of Nicotine and Tobacco Products in US young adults.

Background: Pervasive misperceptions about nicotine may influence uptake of quit smoking aids and the impact of policies addressing nicotine as a tobacco product constituent.

Methods: Latent class analyses were conducted using four items on nicotine beliefs asked of 4037 adults aged 18-40 in wave 9 (February-March 2016) of the Truth Initiative Young Adult Cohort Study. Confirmatory factor analyses identified three factors from 12 items: nicotine susceptibility (NSUS), nicotine severity (NSEV), and tobacco severity (TSEV).

Cost-Effectiveness of Using Mass Media to Prevent Tobacco Use among Youth and Young Adults: The FinishIt Campaign.

Mass media campaigns have been hailed as some of the most effective tobacco prevention interventions. This study examined the cost-effectiveness of the national tobacco prevention campaign, truth FinishIt, to determine the cost per quality-adjusted life year (QALY) saved and the return on investment (ROI). The cost-utility analysis used four main parameters: program costs, number of smoking careers averted, treatment costs, and number of QALYs saved whenever a smoking career is averted.

Longitudinal Response to Restrictions on Menthol Cigarettes Among Young Adult US Menthol Smokers, 2011-2016.

To examine responses to hypothetical restrictions on menthol cigarettes among young adult menthol smokers in the United States. We surveyed Truth Initiative Young Adult Cohort respondents 18 to 34 years of age every 6 months from December 2011 through October 2016. Menthol cigarette smokers (n = 806, n = 1963 observations) indicated their response if menthol cigarettes were unavailable.

Smoking Trajectory Classes and Impact of Social Smoking Identity in Two Cohorts of U.S. Young Adults.

This study describes cigarette smoking trajectories, the influence of social smoker self-identification (SSID), and correlates of these trajectories in two cohorts of U.S. young adults: a sample from the Chicago metropolitan area (Social Emotional Contexts of Adolescent and Young Adult Smoking Patterns [SECAP], = 893) and a national sample (Truth Initiative Young Adult Cohort Study [YA Cohort], = 1,491).

The Role of Emotions and Perceived Ad Effectiveness: Evidence From the Truth FinishIt Campaign.

Purpose: Examine association between emotional valence and intensity prompted by anti-tobacco advertising messages and perceived ad effectiveness among youth/young adults.

Design: Online forced-exposure survey data from a nationally weighted, cross-sectional sample of youth/young adults, collected periodically over a 4-year period.

Setting: National.

Content analysis of tobacco in episodic programming popular among youth and young adults.

Background: While evidence exists supporting a causal relationship between exposure to tobacco content in movies and youth smoking, research is limited on the prevalence and impact of tobacco content in episodic programming aired on television (TV) and online streaming platforms. The purpose of this study was to analyse episodic programming popular among young people to estimate the prevalence of tobacco imagery.

Methods: An online survey of participants aged 15-24 years (n=750) recruited from an existing panel was used to gauge viewership of episodic programming aired on Netflix, broadcast TV and cable TV.

Prevalence and correlates of nicotine and nicotine product perceptions in U.S. young adults, 2016.

Introduction: Nicotine is not a human carcinogen and combustion compounds in tobacco smoke, rather than nicotine, cause tobacco-related cardiovascular disease. Few recent studies examine the public's beliefs about nicotine in relation to smoking.

Methods: Participants aged 18-40 (n = 4,091) in Wave 10 (Fall 2016) of the Truth Initiative Young Adult Cohort Study responded to nineteen items on nicotine and nicotine product perceptions, including addictiveness and health harms of nicotine patch/gum and e-cigarettes compared to cigarettes.