Association between court-ordered corrective statements and smoking cessation among individuals with depression or anxiety

Abstract

In 2006, a US federal court mandated tobacco companies to disseminate corrective messages to address tobacco-related misperceptions perpetuated by the tobacco industry. This study sought to evaluate the impact of exposure to these messages on tobacco cessation among smokers with depression and/or anxiety. Data were obtained from the 2019 Health Information National Trends Survey. A total of 606 were current adult smokers. Multivariable logistic regression models were conducted to explore the relationship between exposure to anti-smoking messages and quitting tobacco among smokers with mental disorders (n ​= ​209) and those without mental disorders (n ​= ​397). Prevalence of exposure to court-ordered corrective messages was 51% among the US adults with depression and/or anxiety and 61.9% among current smokers with depression and/or anxiety. Exposure to multiple antismoking messages was not associated with intentions (OR 1.43, 95% CI 0.28–7.86; p ​= ​0.663) or attempts to quit cigarette smoking (OR 0.96, 95% CI 0.20–5.42; p ​= ​0.817) among individuals with (61.2% vs 58.5%; p ​= ​0.678) depression or anxiety. Further work is needed to identify psychological and motivational elements that substantially impact smoking behavior change among mental health populations such that these can be included in future industry funded media campaigns.