Wreaking “Havoc” on Smoking

Abstract

Background More than 25% of young adult Oklahomans smoked cigarettes in 2012. Tobacco marketing campaigns target young adults in social environments like bars/nightclubs. Social Branding interventions are designed to compete directly with this marketing. Purpose To evaluate an intervention to reduce smoking among young adult “Partiers” in Oklahoma. The Partier social subculture was described as follows: attendance at large nightclubs, fashion consciousness, valuing physical attractiveness, and achieving social status by exuding an image of confidence and financial success. Design Repeated cross-sectional study with three time points. Setting/Participants Randomized time location survey samples of young adult Partier bar and club patrons in Oklahoma City (Time 1 [2010], n=1,383; Time 2 [2011], 1,292; and Time 3 [2012], 1,198). Data were analyzed in 2013. Intervention The “HAVOC” Social Branding intervention was designed to associate a smoke-free lifestyle with Partiers’ values, and included events at popular clubs, brand ambassador peer leaders who transmit the anti-tobacco message, social media, and tailored anti-tobacco messaging. Main outcome measures Daily and nondaily smoking rates, and binge drinking rates (secondary). Results Overall, smoking rates did not change (44.1% at Time 1, 45.0% at Time 2, and 47.4% at Time 3 (p=0.17), but there was a significant interaction between intervention duration and brand recall. Partiers reporting intervention recall had lower odds of daily smoking (OR=0.30 [0.10, 0.95]) and no difference in nondaily smoking, whereas among Partiers without intervention recall had increased odds of smoking (daily AOR=1.74 [1.04, 2.89], nondaily AOR=1.97 [1.35, 2.87]). Among non-Partiers, those who recalled HAVOC reported no difference in smoking, and those who did not recall HAVOC reported significantly increased odds of smoking (daily AOR=1.53 [1.02, 2.31], nondaily AOR=1.72 [1.26, 2.36]). Binge drinking rates were significantly lower (AOR=0.73 [0.59, 0.89]) overall. Conclusions HAVOC has potential to affect smoking behavior among Oklahoma Partiers without increasing binge drinking.

Evaluation of Bar and Nightclub Intervention to Decrease Young Adult Smoking in New Mexico

“…A series of cross-sectional surveys were collected from adults aged 18–26 years in bars and nightclubs popular among young adults in Albuquerque, New Mexico, at Time 1 (June 2009–August 2009) and three subsequent periods (Time 2: October 2009–May 2010, Time 3: March 2011–December 2011, and Time 4: December 2012–December 2013). A Social Branding intervention called HAVOC [20] was implemented in New Mexico during this time. To determine the target population for this intervention, surveys, ethnographic observation, and focus groups were conducted in three cities in New Mexico, including Albuquerque, in September 2008–October 2008.…”

“…Partiers are characterized by attendance at large nightclubs, high concern for fashion, valuing physical attractiveness, preferring DJ venues over live music, and achieving high social status by exuding an image of confidence and financial success [20]. Young adults who affiliate with many different peer crowds go to bars and socialize, but Partiers are perceived by other young adults both to attend certain venues, and to go out to bars more frequently, for longer hours, and with greater consumption of alcohol and/or other substances, which led to the name “Partiers.” Although in this study “Partiers” refers to this group, the term is not used in the public face of the campaign, and it does not apply to all young adults who go to parties.…”

“…Then, the social brand uses its status within the peer crowd to associate certain values unique to that peer crowd with a positive health behavior through the use of interactive experiences at events, culturally relevant influencers, and interactive digital media. The multi-component intervention strategy has been further described previously and is summarized in Figure A (Online Supplement) [19,20]. Social Branding interventions targeting smoking behavior have been implemented previously in bars in San Diego, California [19], Oklahoma City, Oklahoma [11], and Las Vegas, Nevada [19–21], with decreases in smoking prevalence noted in different populations of young adults.…”

Comparing perceived effectiveness of FDA-proposed cigarette packaging graphic health warnings between sexual and gender minorities and heterosexual adults

“…This social branding approach has been replicated in three cities (Oklahoma City, San Diego, and Las Vegas) and showed promising trends of reducing daily smoking among young adult peer crowds. [56–58] Presently, there is insufficient evidence on the effectiveness of community, policy, and media interventions for SGM populations to conclude if cultural tailoring would be more effective. [23] Further research is needed to assess whether tailored interventions would improve cessation outcomes among SGM persons and to identify best strategies for targeted messaging among different SGM populations.…”

The Social Prioritization Index and Tobacco Use Among Young Adult Bar Patrons

“…Social Branding interventions are tailored for young adults with high social prioritization by associating living tobacco-free with social success, and delivering the intervention where these individuals are socializing (i.e., bars and nightclubs for young adults). Social Branding interventions have been associated with significant decreases in tobacco use among young adults at the highest risk in pilot studies in San Diego, Oklahoma City, and Las Vegas (Fallin, Neilands, Jordan, Hong, & Ling, 2015; Fallin, Neilands, Jordan, & Ling, 2015; Ling et al, 2014). …”