January 8, 1999

Contact: Bonnie Widerburg, (971) 673-1282

OREGON HEALTH SERVICES UNVEILS NEW ANTI-TOBACCO ADS FOR THE NEW YEAR

State adds to its collection of attention-grabbing advertisements.

(PORTLAND) With the coming of the New Year, the Oregon Health Services continues its successful anti-tobacco public education program with the unveiling of new attention- grabbing advertisements.

This week the Oregon Health Services’s Tobacco Prevention Campaign introduces a new round of television advertisements. These compelling new ads augment those currently running, which have been on the air since September. To continue the success of the program OHS routinely rotates in new advertisements.

OHS is releasing a total of three new television commercials, one of them in Spanish. The ads include one exposing nicotine addiction and two warning about the silent killer, secondhand smoke. To maximize limited resources, the OHS continues to run commercials produced in other states. The best commercials from other states are chosen, then tested in Oregon focus groups. The most effective advertisements based upon message retention and behavioral impact are picked for airtime.

We spend considerable effort choosing the best advertisements. This helps ensure that the momentum for our successful program continues, Jane Moore, OHS’s Chronic Disease Director, said.

The first commercial, Hooked, focuses on nicotine addiction. The narrator explains that when the tobacco industry increases nicotine levels in their cigarettes they hook more of their customers.

The second commercial, Kids, emphasizes the dangers for children exposed to secondhand smoke. The speaker, a little girl, describes how secondhand smoke causes many diseases like asthma in children.

The last commercial, Hidden Killer, in Spanish, explains the hidden danger of secondhand smoke. The narrator discusses how secondhand smoke is not always noticeable but is a silent killer.

The Oregon Tobacco Prevention and Education Program is a comprehensive effort to reduce the use of tobacco and exposure to secondhand smoke. It includes programs in local communities, schools, businesses, media and special populations. The program is funded by a tobacco tax increase approved by voters in 1996. Ten percent of the new revenue is allocated to tobacco use prevention and reduction.