California Tobacco Prevention Program

Flavors Hook Kids – California Tobacco Prevention Program

With cigarette use in steep decline after years of public education and bans, the California Department of Health’s Tobacco Control Program saw the tobacco industry shift its focus to flavored tobacco products, targeting an entirely new group of vulnerable consumers – teenagers and young adults.

When studies showed that Asian parents had very low awareness of the prevalence of vapes and e-cigarettes, we set out to educate them about the dangers of flavored tobacco and elicit a sense of urgency to protect their children. Together with our agency partners covering different cultural segments, we launched a multi-channel campaign that shed light on the tobacco industry’s despicable attempts to create a new generation of nicotine addicts.

With a high 65% recall, our campaign increased the understanding of tobacco industry’s tactics among Asian parents. Post-campaign, more parents agreed that:

·   The tobacco industry deliberately targets youth

·   The tobacco industry uses flavors to hook kids

·   The tobacco industry’s marketing practices are deceptive

More importantly, the campaign helped motivate action, with a higher percentage of Asian parents expressing interest in participating in future legislation to regulate flavored vapes and e-cigarettes. In August of 2020, Senate Bill 793 was passed in California, prohibiting the sale of flavored tobacco products in the state.

“California has been the national leader on tobacco control efforts, and it’s with APartnership’s help since 2007, that we have been able to make a measurable impact on reducing tobacco use in our Asian communities”

Valerie Quinn, M.Ed., Chief, Media & Communications Section, CA Tobacco Control Program

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