(This resource corresponds to Module 4.)

Campaigns can be effective in increasing awareness of a new law that was recently passed or an existing law that is not being enforced. Campaigns have been used to educate the public about new laws related to drinking and driving and existing laws that govern the illegal sales of cigarettes to youth.¹

In the late 1980s, an aggressive six-month effort was instituted to reduce the illegal sale of cigarettes to youth in Santa Clara County, California. A community-wide public education campaign was a key component of this strategy.² Mass media, small media, and presentations to community groups were used to make Santa Clara County aware of the problem of tobacco availability to youth.

Before the campaign began, compliance checks were conducted at stores throughout the county. In compliance checks, pseudo-patrons who cannot legally purchase a product try to do so, and vendors who sell to them are penalized. The results were released at a well-publicized press conference.

Then, several Public Service Announcements, including one by former U.S. Surgeon General C. Everett Koop, were created and released on local radio and television stations. In addition, in a direct merchant education effort, prevention practitioners contacted store managers to explain the project and give them a merchant education kit. They also contacted CEOs of chain stores to ask the companies to take action to address the problem of illegal tobacco sales. Finally, numerous presentations were made to local community groups.

Overall, public education played a key role in informing the public about the pressing nature of illegal tobacco sales to youth and in garnering community support for this project. Following the public education campaign, many community leaders wrote letters of support, and many local organizations passed formal resolutions in support of the project. Research on the impact of this multifaceted campaign showed that over-the-counter sales to minors decreased significantly in the targeted communities.

References

1. Altman, D. G., Rasenick-Douss, L., Foster, V., and Tye, J. B. (1989). Reducing the illegal sale of cigarettes to minors. Journal of the American Medical Association, 261, 80–83; and Ross, H. L. (1992). Confronting drunk driving social policy for saving lives. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
   
   
2. Altman, D. G., Rasenick-Douss, L., Foster, V., and Tye, J. B. (1989). Reducing the illegal sale of cigarettes to minors. Journal of the American Medical Association, 261, 80–83.