The University of Arizona - Tobacco Social Norms Marketing
Campaign
Public university located in Tucson, Arizona
Enrollment: Approximately 36,000 students
Fraternity/sorority membership: Approximately
12-15% of students
Gender breakdown: Male: 47%, Female: 53%
Racial breakdown: Caucasian: 71%, Hispanic/Latino:
14%, African American: 3%, Asian/ Pacific Islander: 6%, American
Indian or Alaska Native: 1%, Multiracial: 3%, Other: 2%
Summary:
Policy/Program Description: In 2000,
the University of Arizona (U of A) launched an intensive social
norms marketing campaign to correct student misperceptions
about campus tobacco use. The campaign was implemented to
support new campus tobacco policy changes including smoke-free
residence halls and a ban on smoking within 25 feet of any
campus building. Background.
Results from U of A’s annual Health & Wellness Survey
showed substantial student misperceptions about the prevalence
of peer tobacco use. U of A was already increasing tobacco
control policies, and the time was right for a social norms
marketing campaign to correct student misperceptions about
campus tobacco use. Strategy for
Action. A multidisciplinary team developed normative
messages about tobacco use, pilot-tested the messages with
students, and ran ads in the campus newspaper and on the campus
cable television station. Outcomes.
After year one, there was a statistically significant drop
in the number of students with misperceptions about campus
tobacco. Significant decreases in smoking levels followed.
Future Plans. U of A
Health Promotion staff would like to further explore the “social
smoker” phenomenon and develop normative messages to
address this population.
Lessons Learned
Background:
The University of Arizona (U of A) had been addressing tobacco
use to a limited extent since 1995 through social norms marketing
campaigns (SNMC) that focused mainly on alcohol use. U of
A decided that a more intensive tobacco-related SNMC was needed
for two reasons:
- The annual Health & Wellness Survey found that tobacco
use was a priority risk factor among students, second only
to alcohol use. The U of A survey is based on the Core Institute
Alcohol and Drug Survey and the Harvard College Alcohol
Study but includes items specific to U of A issues.
- The survey revealed that students had greatly exaggerated
misperceptions about student smoking rates. These were even
more substantial than those about student drinking.
In 2000, U of A received a one-year $2,500 Pacific Coast
College Health Association Dr. Joel Grinolds Grant to fund
a tobacco SNMC. Previous demonstrated success with SNMC for
alcohol helped U of A Health Services staff determine that
a similar campaign could work for tobacco.
At that time, all campus buildings were becoming smoke-free,
and smoking was prohibited within 25 feet of all campus buildings.
Believing that past student backlash against tobacco policy
stemmed from an exaggerated sense of the number of smokers
on campus (and thus the number of students that would be impacted
by the policy change), Health Services concluded that a SNMC
could have a positive impact on student perceptions and behaviors
and garner support for the policy changes.
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Strategy for Action:
Committee Work/Health Promotion.
The Health Promotion and Preventive Services Unit, a part
of the Campus Health Service that led previous alcohol and
tobacco SNMCs at U of A, took the lead in developing the new
tobacco SNMC. The team included:
- Campus health care providers
- Education staff
- AOD specialists
- Graduate and undergraduate student
- Risk management staff
- Human resources staff
Message Creation and Testing. Health
Promotion staff decided which student misperceptions to focus
on based on the Health & Wellness Survey results. Students
were key players throughout the campaign development process.
All messages and campaign advertisements were pilot tested
on about 50 students through interviews, focus groups, and
sample advertisements posted in common areas for student feedback.
Students were asked about the campaign’s look, believability,
and message clarity. The final campaign featured normative
messages such as “73% of U of A students do not use
tobacco” and “2 out of 3 smokers want to quit
smoking.”
Implementing the SNMC. Sixteen
3x8-inch ads ran in the campus newspaper from September 2000
through March 2001, along with cable TV advertisements five
times a day. In addition to the newspaper and cable advertisements,
tobacco cessation classes were advertised in the newspaper
classifieds and through campus posters and flyers. Health
Promotion initially relied on the Pacific Coast College Health
Association grant to pay for the advertisements.
Challenges in Implementation. The
major obstacle in implementing the SNMC was persuading health
educators to alter their thinking about the best way to present
health information to students. Traditional health education
materials emphasize the negative consequences of high-risk
behavior and encourage students to avoid those behaviors.
Social norms marketing, on the other hand, highlights the
positive behavior of the majority of students, and encourages
students to adopt those behaviors.
Presidential Support. University
President Peter Likins openly supported the campus tobacco
policy changes. He frequently mentioned Health Promotion’s
Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) work in convocation addresses
to incoming classes to show his support for movement toward
a healthy and safe environment at U of A.
Outcomes:
Survey Results. After one year of
the tobacco-focused SNMC, results from the Health and Wellness
survey showed a statistically significant decline in student
misperceptions about peer tobacco use. The percentage of U
of A students who believed that “most” students
had used tobacco during the past 30 days dropped from 93%
before the campaign to 59% after. There is often a lag between
correcting misperceptions and changes in behavior. Studies
of SNMCs suggest that two full years of campaign implementation
may be required before changes in behavior will be observed.
Indeed, no significant changes were reported in tobacco use
in the first year after the campaign was initiated. In the
three years since the campaign began, there have been significant
declines in tobacco use among U of A students. This can most
likely be attributed both to new tobacco policies on campus
and changes in the normative environment related to the SNMC.
Acceptance of SNMC. Social norms
marketing for tobacco has been less controversial than it
was for alcohol. Alcohol SNMCs usually stress responsible
alcohol use while tobacco SNMCs focus on nonsmoking norms,
leaving no gray area about condoning risky behavior.
Back to Summary
Future Plans:
Although U of A’s tobacco-focused SNMC was only funded
for one year, tobacco use is still an element of the broader
Alcohol and Other Drug SNMC at U of A. Since the advertisements
have proven effective, Health Promotion provides funding to
continue the tobacco messages. Tobacco use has declined, but
the battle continues. Health promotion workers are particularly
concerned with social smokers—students who report that
they do not smoke regularly, but use tobacco in social situations,
like when drinking alcohol. Social smoking is often a pathway
to regular smoking and nicotine addiction. U of A hopes to
be able to fund an SNMC geared specifically towards social
smokers.
Back to Summary
Lessons Learned:
- SNMCs should be part of a comprehensive tobacco prevention
strategy. SNMCs will have limited effect in an environment
that does not restrict tobacco use. At U of A, the SNMC
worked synergistically with campus tobacco use policy changes.
- Highlight students’ and workers’ rights
to carcinogen-free air. Presenting exposure to environmental
tobacco smoke as a workers’ rights issue is a critical
strategy to gain support for policy change. The message
of preferring smoke-free air was conveyed in the U of A
SNMC.
- Pilot test your campaign materials. Campaign
materials need to be tested with students. Pilot testing
is the best way to ensure that messages are appealing and
effective.
For more information on the University of Arizona’s
tobacco SNMC, visit their website at: http://www.socialnorms.campushealth.net
or contact:
Melissa McGee
Coordinator, Harm & Risk Reduction
Campus Health Services
mcgee@health.arizona.edu
This case study was written in September 2003.
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