CTP Commemorates 10 Years of “The Real Cost” Campaign

U.S. Food and Drug Administration sent this bulletin at 05/16/2024 12:00 PM EDT

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Upcoming Webinar Commemorates 10 Years of “The Real Cost”

CTP will hold a webinar on June 11, 2024, from 3:00 to 4:15 p.m. ET to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the award-winning “The Real Cost” youth tobacco prevention campaign. The webinar will feature opening remarks by Dr. Brian King, director of the Center for Tobacco Products, and include a presentation and Q&A session with staff that work on “The Real Cost” campaign. In “The Power of Prevention: Building on 10 Years of Success in Public Education and Teen Tobacco Prevention,” FDA will address topics such as:

The impact of the campaign on youth tobacco use
The importance of public education to CTP’s comprehensive tobacco regulation efforts
The extensive research and scientific support that informs CTP’s campaign messaging
The campaign’s ability to adapt, success stories, and its future

The webinar is free of charge, but registration is required.

Register for the June 11th Webinar

Podcast Episode Explores the Impact of FDA’s “The Real Cost” Youth Tobacco Prevention Campaign

A recent episode of the Empathy Affect podcast features a discussion about “The Real Cost” with April Brubach, acting director of CTP’s Office of Health Communications and Education (OHCE), and Merrybelle Guo, a social scientist in CTP OHCE. The episode highlights the 10th anniversary of “The Real Cost” campaign and explores topics such as how the campaign remained relevant as the media landscape, young people, and the market of tobacco products all evolved rapidly.

Listen to the Podcast

Recent Study Finds FDA’s “The Real Cost” Successfully Influenced Youth E-Cigarette Beliefs

In February, FDA collaborated with RTI International on a study published in Nicotine and Tobacco Research evaluating longitudinal associations between exposure to FDA’s “The Real Cost” Youth E-Cigarette Prevention Campaign advertisements and changes in campaign-specific beliefs among U.S. youth. The study found evidence that self-reported exposure to “The Real Cost” campaign advertisements increased youth beliefs around the harms of e-cigarettes and the consequences of e-cigarette use. This study offers evidence for the effectiveness of this e-cigarette-focused digital and social media campaign at changing youth tobacco perceptions in response to changes in youth tobacco product and media use habits.