Does advertising work to influence the use of drugs, alcohol or tobacco? Let’s look at how cigarette use has dwindled over the last several decades. Starting in the 1960s, advertising began to be used to reduce tobacco use and thereby save lives. In response, teen use between 1997 and 2013 dropped from 37% to 16%. Among adults, cigarette smoking dropped from 42.4% to 16.8%. The results may be slow but changes in tobacco advertising has definitely helped shrink these numbers.
