Antismoking campaigns weigh on smokers' intentions, but yield little action

In 2006, a U.S. district court judge ordered tobacco companies to sponsor antismoking advertising campaigns around the country, but new research finds these campaigns may not have prompted tobacco cessation. Scientists surveyed more than 5,300 people — 610 of whom were smokers — about whether they had seen any industry-sponsored antismoking messages and about their smoking habits. Those who said they saw antismoking messages were more than twice as likely to say they intended to quit using cigarettes. At the same time, these people were only 31% more likely to have attempted quitting. Repeatedly seeing antismoking messages increased the odds that a person intended to quit, and researchers estimate that almost 4 million more current smokers could aim to quit if they were exposed to multiple messages about cessation.