Smokers and ex-smokers reaction to anti-smoking advertising : a mixed methods approach

Anti-smoking advertising is a central component of modern public health policy. Nevertheless, some smokers have reported that viewing anti-smoking advertising provokes intense nicotine craving. Anti-smoking advertising frequently features images of cigarettes and of individuals smoking. However, research indicates that images of tobacco paraphernalia may induce cravings in individuals addicted to nicotine. The effects of the presence of smoking cues in anti-smoking advertising were considered in the present study. Smokers and ex-smokers (N=63) were randomly assigned to view an anti-smoking advertisement or to complete a control task. Urge to smoke was measured pre- and post-test. Qualitative responses to anti-smoking advertising were also elicited from all participants in the intervention groups. According to both qualitative and quantitative data analyses viewing anti-smoking advertising, even with images of smoking related paraphernalia, led to decreases in craving amongst smokers. Ex-smokers experienced no change in quantitatively measured craving after viewing anti-smoking advertising. These findings are inconsistent with findings from studies using neutral or positive smoking cues. Qualitative data shows that no smokers or ex-smokers who viewed anti-smoking advertising reported an increase in tobacco craving as a result of viewing the campaign. Implications of these findings for future research and anti-smoking campaigns are discussed.

Correlates of change in adults’ television viewing time : a four-year follow-up study

Purpose: Adults tend to increase their television (TV) viewing time as they age, but little is known about attributes associated with change in TV viewing over time. This study examined individual, social, and environmental correlates of change in TV viewing time for 4 yr.

Methods: Adult participants (n = 897) from a longitudinal epidemiological study in Adelaide, Australia, reported TV viewing time at baseline (2003–2004) and at follow- up (2007–2008). Generalized linear modeling was used to examine correlates of change in TV viewing time.

Results: The mean TV viewing time increased from 112 to 116 min·d-1 from baseline to follow-up. Adjusted for TV viewing time at baseline, having a tertiary education was associated with a 13% lower TV time at follow-up (P = 0.007). Each additional hour of occupational and transport physical activity at baseline was associated with a 2% and 7% lower TV viewing at follow-up (P = 0.031 and P = 0.023, respectively). For men, an additional hour of domestic physical activity was associated with a 7% higher TV viewing time at follow-up (P = 0.006). A significant neighborhood walkability × working status interaction (P = 0.035) indicated that, for those who were not working, living in a highly walkable neighborhood was associated with a 23% lower TV viewing time at follow-up (P = 0.003).

Conclusions: Adults with lower educational attainment, adults with lower occupational and transport physical activity, men with higher domestic physical activity, and nonworking adults living in lowly walkable neighborhoods were at higher risk of increase in TV viewing time. Interventions should target multiple variables at the individual, social, and environmental levels to address age-related increases in TV viewing time.

Television viewing time of colorectal cancer survivors is associated prospectively with quality of life

Objective : To examine prospective associations of television viewing time with quality of life, following a colorectal cancer diagnosis.

Methods : One thousand, nine hundred and sixty-six colorectal cancer survivors were recruited through the Queensland Cancer Registry. Interviews were conducted at 5, 12, 24, and 36 months post-diagnosis. Generalized linear mixed models estimated the effects of television viewing time on quality of life.

Results : Participants who watched ≥5 h of television per day had a 16% lower total quality of life score than did participants reporting ≤2 h per day. Deleterious associations of television viewing time were found with all quality of life subscales: functional well-being showed the strongest association (23% difference in quality of life scores between highest and lowest television viewing categories), and social well-being the weakest association (6% difference). Participants who increased their television viewing by one category (e.g., ≤2 h, increasing to 3–4 h per day) had a proportional decrease of some 6% in their quality of life score (intra-individual effect).

Conclusions : The deleterious associations of television viewing time with quality of life were clinically significant and consistent over time. Decreasing sedentary behavior may be an important behavioral strategy to enhance the quality of life of cancer survivors.

Smart Interactive Advertising Board (SIAB)

A Smart Interactive Advertising Board (SIAB) has been designed and developed. This board is capable of interacting with humans in close proximity. A number of sensor devices are used in the board where sensors inputs (Bluetooth IDs and distance sensor readings) create an innovative form of user interaction with the board. The SIAB display is determined by user position, location, and movements. In this paper, the authors investigate how the user inputs are mapped to the advertising board and its behavior. A prototype of SIAB is implemented.

Adolescent television viewing and unhealthy snack food consumption: the mediating role of home availability of unhealthy snack foods

Objective
To examine whether home availability of energy-dense snack foods mediates the association between television (TV) viewing and energy-dense snack consumption among adolescents.
Design
Cross-sectional.
Setting
Secondary schools in Victoria, Australia.
Subjects
Adolescents (n 2984) from Years 7 and 9 of secondary school completed a web-based survey, between September 2004 and July 2005, assessing their energy-dense snack food consumption, school-day and weekend-day TV viewing and home availability of energy-dense snack foods.
Results
School-day and weekend-day TV viewing were positively associated with energy-dense snack consumption among adolescent boys (β = 0·003, P < 0·001) and girls (β = 0·03, P < 0·001). Furthermore, TV viewing (school day and weekend day) were positively associated with home availability of energy-dense snack foods among adolescent boys and girls and home availability of energy-dense snack foods was positively associated with energy-dense snack food consumption among boys (β = 0·26, P < 0·001) and girls (β = 0·28, P < 0·001). Home availability partly mediated the association between TV viewing and energy-dense snack consumption.
Conclusions
The results of the present study suggest that TV viewing has a significant role to play in adolescent unhealthy eating behaviours. Future research should assess the efficacy of methods to reduce adolescent energy-dense snack food consumption by targeting parents to reduce home availability of energy-dense foods and by reducing TV viewing behaviours of adolescents.

From whence it came: understanding source effects in consumer‑generated advertising

Web 2.0 technologies are empowering consumers to co-produce online brand communications and thereby co-create brand meaning. As both consumers and marketers are increasingly using video-sharing websites to showcase their brand communication efforts, viewers of these ads are inadvertently becoming part of the co-production process as they create context around the ads (in the forms of reviews, comments and ratings). The environment in which such online advertisements are viewed has significant effects on consumer perceptions of the ad message, and ultimately impacts the persuasive properties and efficacy of the ad. This study reports on research conducted to test the source effects of consumer-generated advertising. Schlinger’s Viewer Response Profile (VRP) is used to assess the impact of three source variables: ad creator, ad popularity and motivation for creation of the ad. Findings confirm the importance of popularity ratings on consumer ad evaluation, and also suggest that certain source effects result in consumers being more critical in their evaluation of the ads.