Public Health Education Campaigns
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Rooted in science, FDA’s tobacco public education campaigns are critical to our public health mission. FDA focuses on audiences with a higher risk of using tobacco products and uses media campaigns with dynamic advertising to convince youth to not use tobacco. To maximize the impact on public health and address the high usage rates, FDA is prioritizing e-cigarette prevention campaigns for youth.
Today, e-cigarette use among youth remains high and e-cigarettes are the most commonly used product among youth. FDA is focusing its prevention efforts to reduce youth use of e-cigarettes through “The Real Cost” campaign.
Campaign Program Evolution
Current Public Education Campaigns
The Real Cost
FDA’s award-winning public education campaign, “The Real Cost,” continues to prevent youth from tobacco initiation and use. In 2017, the campaign began prioritizing e-cigarette prevention messaging to combat increasing use of e-cigarettes among youth. “The Real Cost” campaign also educates youth on the health consequences of smoking cigarettes.
Next Legends
"Next Legends" is a new youth e-cigarette prevention campaign that aims to educate American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) youth, ages 12-17, about the harms of vaping. Research has shown AI/AN youth are more susceptible to tobacco than their non-Native peers, and they demonstrate disproportionately high experimentation and current use of e-cigarettes.
Past Public Education Campaigns
From 2015 through 2020, FDA implemented several media campaigns to reach discrete audiences and address specific tobacco product usage. These campaigns have ended, and lessons learned from each campaign continue to be incorporated in current campaigns and public education efforts.
- Fresh Empire
Prevented cigarette use among African American, Hispanic, and Asian American/Pacific Islander youth ages 12-17 who identify with hip-hop culture. - This Free Life
Prevented cigarette use among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) young adults ages 18-24. - Every Try Counts
Encouraged adult cigarette smokers to quit through messages of support that underscore the health benefits of quitting. - The Real Cost Smokeless Tobacco
Prevented smokeless tobacco use among rural male youth ages 12-17.