Connie Pechmann, a University of California at Irvine professor, just completed research on anti-smoking television advertisements across the United States. She determined that these commercials often use ineffective tactics.

As part of the research, Pechmann had 1,000 Orange County, Calif., youths look at anti-smoking campaigns from California, Vermont, Massachusetts and other states. "You have to have the right strategy, the right message, the right ad and the right spokesperson," said Pechmann. "One good message is to stress that secondhand smoke hurts innocent victims. Kids get very upset by that."

Another message that's effective with youth, said Pechmann, is that smokers have chosen a bad path in life and are destined for trouble.

Her research determined that anti-smoking ads that stress long-term health effects or cosmetic issues are not that effective.

Pechmann added that it's best to focus on one anti-smoking theme, whether it's the dangers of secondhand smoke or the negative social perception of smoking. "You want to have a laser approach," she noted.

The study also showed that the person delivering the message is just as important as the message itself. "You need to use young people in the ads to talk to other young people," Pechmann said. "People listen to spokespeople that are like them; they view the info as more credible and more relevant."

With some U.S. states spending millions of dollars on anti-smoking education, Pechmann said, "it's tough to know if you're influencing headstrong teenagers."

Some states, like California, have programs in place to measure the effectiveness of anti-smoking campaigns. The state Department of Education's Healthy Kids office provides information about effective, research-based teaching strategies to local school districts. In addition, school districts receiving tobacco-tax education funds must survey their students' health behaviors, indicate how success will be measured and report their results to the state.

"New research comes across my desk every day," said Marilyn Pritchard, who oversees anti-tobacco programs for Orange County, Calif. "We try and change our programs based on the latest information on what's successful."

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