Analysis Of Media Campaign Promoting Smoking Cessation Suggests It Was Cost-Effective In Prompting Quit Attempts

Abstract

The American Legacy Foundation's national EX® campaign, which ran on radio and television in 2008, was designed to promote smoking cessation among adult smokers. The incremental societal cost of EX, in 2009 dollars, was $166 million. Data from eight designated media market areas studied indicate that in a hypothetical nationwide cohort of 2,012,000 adult smokers ages 18-49, EX resulted in 52,979 additional quit attempts and 4,238 additional quits and saved 4,450 quality-adjusted life-years. Incremental cost-utility estimates comparing EX to the status quo-that is, the situation that would have existed in the eight markets with no campaign and no change in cessation behavior-ranged from a cost of $37,355 to $81,301 per quality-adjusted life-year, which suggests that the campaign was cost-effective. These findings bolster previous evidence that national mass media campaigns for smoking cessation can lower smoking prevalence in a cost-effective manner, among both adults and young adults ages 18-24 who are smokers. M ass media campaigns can be used effectively to reduce youth smoking prevalence and promote adult smoking cessation, particularly when combined with other tobacco control efforts.

Cost-effectiveness of a smokeless tobacco control mass media campaign in India

“…For example, the American EX campaign cost US$37 355–US$81 301 per quality-adjusted life year (QALY) saved 29. A campaign in London targeting Turkish speakers cost US$175 (£105) per life year gained and US$1375 (£825) per permanent quit 30.…”

Cost and Threshold Analysis of the FinishIt Campaign to Prevent Youth Smoking in the United States

“…A range of estimates exist for the discounted lifetime medical care costs and the discounted QALYs for smokers versus non-smokers [13]. In the base case, we assumed no difference in treatment costs for smokers versus non-smokers (T = 0) [14], and in sensitivity analyses we evaluated scenarios with higher costs for smokers than non-smokers converted to 2015 US dollars [15]. Sloan [16] estimated the annual smoking-related healthcare costs for a 24 year old (just over $1000 per year), and Holtgrave and colleagues [6] conservatively assumed that these costs would be incurred over 27 years, discounted at 3% per annum.…”

A Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of the First Federally Funded Antismoking Campaign

“…For each age and gender group among former smokers aged 25–64 years, LYs were calculated for former smokers and, counterfactually, for continuing smokers, using the appropriate base age as the starting year. For quits in the 18–24-year age group, LYs saved were calculated from age 30 years 19 . QALY gains were calculated from published estimates for current and former smokers.…”

“…27 Both LYs saved and QALYs gained were then converted into a net present value using a 3% discount rate. 19 Discounting used the respective base age for quitters aged 25–64 years; for former smokers aged 18–24 years, discounting was applied using a base age of 20 years. QALY gains were then calculated, by age and gender group, as total QALYs for former smokers less the total QALYs for a group of continuing smokers of the same size.…”

“…National campaigns can be more economically efficient than local campaigns because of economics of scale. 17 A few studies 18,19 have evaluated the cost effectiveness of U.S. national mass media campaigns and also found them to be cost effective.…”