Stimulating dialogue: measuring success of the "Smoke Free Horry" campaign

Abstract

Smoke Free Horry was an anti-secondhand smoke media campaign that ran in Horry County, South Carolina in 2011 and 2012. The present study assessed the campaign's ability to stimulate interpersonal dialogue about the campaign-specifically its four television public service announcements (PSAs)-as well as about other smoking-related topics, among a sample of 285 Horry County young adults. Survey data suggested talking about anti-smoking PSAs was related to subsequent discussion about smoking-related topics and positive perceptions of the campaign's effectiveness. PSAs using emotional appeals and that discussed the negative health effects of smoking/secondhand smoke were related to the most interpersonal discussions about smoking, secondhand smoking, and smoking bans. Implications for future anti-smoking campaign design are discussed.