Public Education Campaign Aimed at Adults Trying to Quit Smoking
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has announced an adult smoking cessation education campaign focusing on encouraging cigarette smokers to quit through the use of advertisements displayed in and around service stations and convenience stores. This “Every Try Counts” campaign will target smokers who are 25 to 54 years old and who have attempted to quit smoking in the past year, but have been unsuccessful. This is a two-year campaign that will begin in January of 2018 in 35 U.S. markets. A copy of the full FDA press release accompanies this bulletin.
Targeted Markets
The FDA has confirmed to NATO that retail stores in 35 counties in 25 different states will be contacted to participate in this advertising campaign. Counties were selected based on high smoking prevalence, adult smoking population, and the availability of media in a point-of-sale retail environment. Another 15 counties have been selected to serve as “control” counties and will not receive any advertisement placements so the FDA can study any potential impact between counties with and without the advertisements. The FDA map showing the 35 targeted counties and 15 control counties accompanies this bulletin. According to the FDA, the agency will contact retailers in the following counties about displaying the campaign advertisements:
Voluntary Campaign
The FDA has confirmed that this campaign is strictly voluntary which means that retailers are not required to display the advertisements being offered by the FDA. In the Federal Register issued on October 27, 2017, the agency states that “FDA intends to purchase advertising space from retailers on a voluntary basis and will not require retailers to participate in the campaign.” (Federal Register, October 27, 2017, Page 49835). In short, each retailer will have the right to decide whether or not to participate in the advertising campaign. At this time, NATO does not know the amount that the FDA intends to pay retailers who decide to participate in the advertising campaign.