WASHINGTON -- Because African-American and Hispanic youth are both underserved by general anti-tobacco ad campaigns -- as well as at high risk for tobacco use -- the FDA launched its first ever public awareness media campaign aimed specifically at multicultural youth identifying with the "hip-hop peer crowd."
The "Fresh Empire" campaign is designed to combat teen exposure to pro-tobacco images throughout hip-hop culture by re-framing these messages to show that youth can achieve this lifestyle if they "Keep it fresh" and "Live tobacco-free."
"It is vital to reduce the number of youth who become regular smokers to improve the health of the nation for this and future generations," said Jonca Bull, MD, FDA assistant commissioner for minority health in a press briefing. "To achieve this goal, we must reach our at-risk populations with important public health messages about the dangers of tobacco use."
FDA research estimates that 90% of adult tobacco users smoked their first cigarette by age 18, and 4.4 million multicultural youth are either open to smoking or are already experimenting with cigarettes. In fact, a 2012 Surgeon General's Report found there was a causal relationship between peer group social influences and smoking behaviors during adolescence.
While multicultural youth identify with multiple peer crowds, Mitch Zeller, director of the FDA's Center for Tobacco Products, said that research shows that "hip-hop youth" are more likely to use tobacco than other youth.
"This group is often hard to reach, has been historically undeserved by tobacco education efforts and may be associated with a higher risk of some of the most serious negative health outcomes of tobacco use later in life," he said.
The television campaign consists of four ads, each meant to associate hip-hop culture with a tobacco free-lifestyle. Based on FDA research conducted for the purpose of the campaign, an important component in hip-hop culture was being in control, so one of the ads reframed addiction to tobacco as a loss of control.
"Because smoking represents a loss of control, tobacco use innately conflicts with the authentic hip-hop lifestyle," said Zeller. "We're asking hip-hop teens to take and keep control of their own lives by choosing to be tobacco-free."
Bull said that in many cases, these teens have "seen firsthand the damage that tobacco use has done in their community," so a second ad focused on the negative health consequences of tobacco use among families.
The national campaign will debut next week, with the first two ads premiering during the 2015 BET Hip-Hop Awards. Two additional ads focused on staying tobacco-free to prevent use of tobacco by younger siblings will debut in 2016.
This campaign is also separate from The Real Cost, the FDA's anti-smoking campaign that targeted a more broad, general market of youth at risk of tobacco use.
"While progress has been made over the years, tobacco use remains the leading cause of preventable disease and death in this country," said Zeller. "The need to further educate people, especially young people, about the health consequences of tobacco has never been greater."