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Youth

FDA Launches National Campaign to Prevent Tobacco Use Among Multicultural Youth

Strategic Insights

— 1 min read

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has launched a national public education campaign, "Fresh Empire," to prevent and reduce tobacco use among multicultural youth who identify with the hip-hop peer crowd. The campaign focuses on youth ages 12-17 and aims to associate living tobacco-free with a hip-hop lifestyle through interactive marketing strategies. Research estimates that multicultural teens, particularly African American and Hispanic youth, are disproportionately affected by the health burdens of tobacco use.

Key Takeaways:

  • The FDA's "Fresh Empire" campaign targets multicultural youth who identify with the hip-hop peer crowd, as research estimates they are more likely to use tobacco than other youth.
  • The campaign aims to associate living tobacco-free with a hip-hop lifestyle, emphasizing values such as being authentic, powerful, confident, fashionable, creative, and trendsetting.
  • The ads will air nationally for the first time in conjunction with the 2015 BET Hip-Hop Awards on October 13 and will be complemented by local events featuring community influencers who reinforce the importance of tobacco-free living.
  • The "Fresh Empire" campaign is part of the FDA's ongoing efforts to combat tobacco uptake and use among youth, complementing the FDA's general market at-risk youth education campaign, "The Real Cost."
  • The campaign will launch in approximately 36 markets throughout the United States for at least 24 months, with a budget of $128 million funded by tobacco user fees.

Statistics:

  • Tobacco use is almost always initiated during adolescence, with close to 90 percent of established adult smokers smoking their first cigarette by age 18.
  • Each day in the United States, more than 2,600 youth under the age of 18 smoke their first cigarette, and nearly 600 become regular smokers.
  • Approximately 4.4 million multicultural youth are open to smoking or are already experimenting with cigarettes in their lifetime.
  • Tobacco use disproportionately affects minority teens, particularly African American and Hispanic youth.

Sources:

  • U.S. Food and Drug Administration
  • U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Note: not mentioned in the original text, but relevant to the context)

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