Promoting substance use stigma resistance through an automated text message intervention (project RESTART): Outcomes of a pilot feasibility trial.

Background: Stigma in people who use drugs predicts treatment engagement, psychosocial health, and overdose, yet there are few evidence-based interventions to support people who use drugs in managing and coping with substance-related stigma and even fewer for people in active use. mHealth is one option to engage this hard-to-reach population.

Methods: Premised on the theory of stigma resistance, this mixed-methods study explored the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary effectiveness of Project RESTART, a four-week, automated text message intervention for rural-dwelling people who use drugs (n = 30) using a one-group pre-post design.

Do Perceived Message Effectiveness Ratings Change in Response to Repeated Message Exposures?

Perceived message effectiveness (PME) is used in message pre-testing and as an indicator of campaign receptivity. Studies have yet to examine whether PME changes in response to repeated exposures to messages and whether the pattern of change differs for effects perceptions (i.e.

The impact of culturally-informed messages to reduce sugar-sweetened beverage consumption: An experiment among Black women in the United States.

Objective: Sugar-sweetened beverage (i.e., sugary drink) consumption is associated with chronic health issues that disproportionately affect Black women.

Understanding Potential Mechanisms of Vaping Prevention Messages: A Mediation Analysis of the Real Cost Campaign Advertisements.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) developed a public education campaign, , that reduced youth susceptibility to tobacco product use.

Associations of e-cigarette advertising exposure with curiosity and susceptibility among U.S. adolescents: National Youth Tobacco Surveys, 2014-2020.

Introduction: Despite an evolving e-cigarette environment, few studies have looked at adolescent exposure to e-cigarette advertising over time and its associations with curiosity about and susceptibility to using e-cigarettes. We examined e-cigarette advertising exposure and its associations with curiosity and susceptibility across multiple years among adolescents who have never used e-cigarettes.

Methods: We obtained data from the National Youth Tobacco Surveys (NYTSs), 2014-2020 (N = 97,496).

An Automated Text Messaging Intervention to Reduce Substance Use Self-Stigma (Project RESTART): Protocol for a Feasibility and Acceptability Pilot Study.

Background: Stigma is a barrier to treatment and harm reduction seeking in people who use drugs. Most stigma reduction interventions offer psychotherapy or psychoeducation in group-based clinical settings, failing to reach people who are not in treatment. SMS text messaging is an effective and acceptable modality for delivering health information to people who use drugs and may be a suitable conduit for providing information and advice to understand and cope with stigma.

How Do Behavioral Framing, Linguistic Certainty, and Target Specification Impact Responses to Vaping Prevention Messages?

While research on youth vaping prevention has begun to grow, little work has examined language choice in vaping prevention messages. This study examined adolescents' responses to vaping prevention statements that varied on three features: behavioral framing, linguistic certainty, and target specification. We conducted a 2 (behavioral framing) by 2 (linguistic certainty) by 2 (target specification) by 3 (risk type) plus control condition between-subjects experiment using a national probability sample.

Identifying promising themes and messages for youth vaping prevention: A national study.

Use of e-cigarettes and vapes among adolescents continues to be a major public health concern. Health communication efforts can discourage e-cigarette use among adolescents by influencing beliefs and behavior. However, to do so, studies need to identify the most promising themes and messages based on the latest evidence about the harms of e-cigarettes and vaping.

The Impact of Celebrity and Influencer Illness Disclosures.

When celebrities, political figures, influencers, or anyone with a large following publicly disclose an illness or die, the news becomes a de facto public health campaign. Until health communicators began studying such disclosures and the effects of the following waves of media coverage, however, it was not known to what extent these events impacted the public. A growing body of research has empirically documented these events and examined the factors that predict which types of audiences are most affected and why.

Achieving Public Health Impact: Health Communication Research to Inform Tobacco Regulatory Science.

Health communication research applies communication science to develop generalizable knowledge capable of improving the health and well-being of individuals and communities. But to what extent does the knowledge generated by the health communication field actually achieve public health impact? To answer this question, we discuss the application of health communication science and research within a tobacco regulatory science framework. We describe three areas in which health communication research funded by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Center for Tobacco Products (CTP) contributed to 1) youth tobacco prevention campaigns, 2) cigarette health warnings, and 3) regulation of labeling, advertising, and marketing claims.

Building consensus on a set of ENDS-specific pictorial health warnings: a Delphi study among a tobacco control expert panel.

Background: This study reports on the development of pictorial health warning labels for electronic nicotine delivery system (ENDS) using the Delphi approach with a panel of tobacco control experts. Twenty-four evidence-based ENDS-specific warnings corresponding to three themes (toxicity, health risks and specific harm) were developed and used in the Delphi study.

Methods: We conducted a three-round online Delphi study among 60 experts (55% female) between June 2022 and April 2023.

The Development and Testing of a Point-of-Sale E-Cigarette Health Communication Campaign.

Adolescents and young adults continue to use e-cigarettes, and communication campaigns are needed to decrease use among these populations. We developed and tested a point-of-sale communication campaign focused on e-cigarette chemical exposure. We developed messages based on formative research and tested them (versus text-only messages) in a nationally-representative online survey among adolescents and young adults (16-25) (Phase 1).

Awareness and Perceptions of US Food and Drug Administration's JUUL Marketing Denial Order: A National Study of US Adolescents.

Introduction: We examined awareness and perceptions of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) JUUL marketing denial order (MDO) that occurred in June 2022 among a nationally representative sample of US adolescents.

Aims And Methods: Data were collected in August 2022 via an online survey (n = 1603). Adolescents were asked whether they had heard about the JUUL MDO, and, if yes, where they heard the news.

Youth Exposure and Response to the FDA Health Warning Label on Electronic Cigarettes Packaging: Policy Implications.

Introduction: Youth represent a high-priority group for e-cigarette health communication. This study examined youth exposure to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) e-cigarette warning label over 4 years and its association with change in youth harm perception and intention.

Aims And Methods: We pooled data from the 2018-2021 National Youth Tobacco Survey (age 10-17; n = 67 159).

Examining the Longitudinal Relationship Between Perceived and Actual Message Effectiveness: A Randomized Trial.

We sought to examine the relationship between perceived message effectiveness (PME) and actual message effectiveness (AME) in a 3-week randomized trial of vaping prevention advertisements. Participants were US adolescents ( = 1,514) recruited in 2021. We randomly assigned them to view vaping prevention ads or control videos online.

Can Extant Vaping Prevention Message Experiments Tell Us Something About What Works? A Response to O'Keefe.

In his commentary, O'Keefe raises some interesting questions about the meaning of effect sizes in meta-analyses of experiments, focusing on our recent meta-analysis on vaping prevention messages. In this commentary, we respond to O'Keefe's comments and make several points. First, it is not uncommon to include experiments with different control conditions in a meta-analysis.

Synthetic nicotine descriptors: awareness and impact on perceptions of e-cigarettes among US youth.

Background: Electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) are being advertised and sold with synthetic nicotine. Little research has examined youth awareness of synthetic nicotine or the impact of synthetic nicotine descriptors on perceptions of e-cigarettes.

Methods: Participants were a sample of 1603 US adolescents (aged 13-17 years) from a probability-based panel.

National Youth tobacco surveys (2014-2019) show increasing beliefs in the harm and relative addiction of e-cigarettes but decreasing associations between those beliefs and e-cigarette use.

Background: To evaluate the potential efficacy of increasing harm and relative addiction beliefs in discouraging e-cigarette use, we examined how adolescents' beliefs about e-cigarettes have changed over 6 years and how the predictive validity of these beliefs has changed over time.

Methods: Using data from the 2014-2019 National Youth Tobacco Survey (NYTS) (grades 6-12; N = 117,472), we evaluated the association between adolescents' beliefs about the harm and relative addiction of e-cigarettes and current e-cigarette use, as well as susceptibility to use. Logistic regressions and pairwise contrasts were used to analyze changes in these beliefs and determine how well these beliefs predict ever use, current use, and susceptibility to use over time.

Do Vaping Prevention Messages Impact Adolescents and Young Adults? A Meta-Analysis of Experimental Studies.

Vaping prevention messages are widely used to communicate the health harms and addiction risks of vaping and discourage vaping among adolescents and young adults. We conducted a meta-analysis of experimental studies to examine the effects of these messages and to understand their theoretical mechanisms. Systematic, comprehensive searches generated 4,451 references, among which 12 studies (cumulative  = 6,622) met inclusion criteria for the meta-analysis.

Risk and safety profile of electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS): an umbrella review to inform ENDS health communication strategies.

Objectives: This umbrella review aims to summarise the evidence about electronic nicotine delivery systems' (ENDS) risk and safety health profile to inform ENDS health communication strategies.

Data Sources And Study Selection: Six databases were searched for systematic reviews presenting evidence on ENDS-related health effects. Ninety reviews divided into five categories were included: toxicity=20, health effects=40, role in smoking cessation=24, role in transition to combustible cigarettes (CCs)=13 and industry marketing claims=4.

Impact of Vaping Prevention Advertisements on US Adolescents: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Understanding whether prevention advertisements reduce susceptibility to vaping is important owing to concerning levels of adolescent vaping.

Objective: To examine whether vaping prevention advertisements from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) national Real Cost campaign lead to lower susceptibility to vaping among adolescents.

Design, Setting, And Participants: For this 3-group randomized clinical trial with parallel assignment, participants were US adolescents aged 13 to 17 years who were susceptible to vaping or current e-cigarette users, recruited from online panels.

The Impact of The Real Cost Vaping and Smoking Ads across Tobacco Products.

Introduction: Little research has examined the spillover effects of tobacco communication campaigns, such as how anti-smoking ads affect vaping.

Aims And Methods: Participants were a national sample of 623 U.S.

Fifteen Years after a 10-year Retrospective: The State of Health Mass Mediated Campaigns.

In 2006, a 10-year retrospective of successful mass mediated health communication campaigns reviewed the field and highlighted strategies for successful campaigns. In the 15 years since the retrospective, there have been dramatic changes in the media environment and advances in health communication research. In this article, we describe changes in the health communication media landscape and in our understanding of mass mediated health communication campaigns in the 15 years since the retrospective.