Proposed Data Collection Submitted for Public Comment and Recommendations

AGENCY:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

ACTION:

Notice with comment period.

SUMMARY:

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as part of its continuing effort to reduce public burden and maximize the utility of government information, invites the general public and other federal agencies the opportunity to comment on a continuing information collection, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. This notice invites comment on a proposed information collection project titled Extended Evaluation of the National Tobacco Prevention and Control Public Education Campaign. This collection is used to evaluate the Tips From Former Smokers (Tips) campaign, which encourages smokers to quit smoking and to communicate with smokers about the dangers of smoking.

DATES:

CDC must receive written comments on or before August 1, 2022.

ADDRESSES:

You may submit comments, identified by Docket No. CDC-2022-0071 by either of the following methods:

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments.

• Mail: Jeffrey M. Zirger, Information Collection Review Office, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road NE, MS H21-8, Atlanta, Georgia 30329.

Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency name and Docket Number. CDC will post, without change, all relevant comments to www.regulations.gov.

Please note: Submit all comments through the Federal eRulemaking portal (www.regulations.gov) or by U.S. mail to the address listed above.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

To request more information on the proposed project or to obtain a copy of the information collection plan and instruments, contact Jeffrey M. Zirger, Information Collection Review Office, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road NE, MS H21-8, Atlanta, Georgia 30329; Telephone: 404-639-7118; Email: omb@cdc.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520), federal agencies must obtain approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for each collection of information they conduct or sponsor. In addition, the PRA also requires federal agencies to provide a 60-day notice in the Federal Register concerning each proposed collection of information, including each new proposed collection, each proposed extension of existing collection of information, and each reinstatement of previously approved information collection before submitting the collection to the OMB for approval. To comply with this requirement, we are publishing this notice of a proposed data collection as described below.

The OMB is particularly interested in comments that will help:

1. Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the information will have practical utility;

2. Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of information, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used;

3. Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected;

4. Minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic submissions of responses; and

5. Assess information collection costs.

Proposed Project

Extended Evaluation of the National Tobacco Prevention and Control Public Education Campaign (OMB Control No. 0920-1083, Exp. 03/31/2023)—Revision—National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (NCCDPHP), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Background and Brief Description

In 2012, HHS/CDC launched the National Tobacco Prevention and Control Public Education Campaign, Tips From Former Smokers (Tips) campaign. The primary objectives of the Tips campaign are to encourage smokers to quit smoking and to encourage nonsmokers to communicate with smokers about the dangers of smoking. Tips airs annually in all U.S. media markets on broadcast and national cable TV as well as other media channels including digital video, online display and banners, radio, billboards, and other formats. Tips ads rely on evidence-based paid media advertising that highlights the negative health consequences of smoking. Tips primary target audience is adult smokers; adult nonsmokers constitute the secondary audience. Tips paid advertisements are aimed at providing motivation and support to smokers to quit, with information and other resources to increase smokers' chances of success in their attempts to quit smoking. A key objective for the nonsmoker audience is to encourage nonsmokers to communicate with smokers they may know (including family and friends) about the dangers of smoking and to encourage them to quit. Tips ads also focus on increasing audience's knowledge of smoking-related diseases, intentions to quit, and other related outcomes.

The goal of the proposed information collection is to evaluate the reach of the Tips campaign among intended audiences and to examine the effectiveness of these efforts in impacting specific outcomes that are targeted by Tips, including quit attempts and intentions to quit among smokers, nonsmokers' communications about the dangers of smoking, and knowledge of smoking-related diseases among both audiences. This will require customized surveys that will capture all unique messages and components of Tips. Information will be collected through Web-based surveys to be self-administered by adults 18 and over on computers in the respondent's home or in another convenient location. Evaluating the impact of the Tips campaign on behavioral outcomes is necessary to determine campaign cost effectiveness and to allow program planning for the most effective campaign outcomes. Because Tips content changes, it is necessary to evaluate each yearly implementation of the Tips campaign.

The proposed information collection will include three survey collections per year (nine surveys in total) generally conducted before, during, and after the Tips campaign in each year. Using the same methods outlined in the currently approved information collection (OMB Control No. 0920-1083, Exp. 3/31/2023), participants will be recruited from two sources: (1) An online longitudinal cohort of adult smokers and nonsmokers, sampled randomly from postal mailing addresses in the United States (address-based sample, or ABS); and (2) the existing GfK/Ipsos KnowledgePanel, an established long-term online panel of U.S. adults. All online surveys, regardless of sample source, will be conducted via the GfK/Ipsos KnowledgePanel Web portal for self-administered surveys.

Information collected by these surveys include smokers' and nonsmokers' awareness of and exposure to specific Tips advertisements; knowledge, attitudes, beliefs related to smoking and secondhand smoke; and other marketing exposures. The surveys will also measure behaviors related to smoking cessation (among the smokers in the sample) and behaviors related to nonsmokers' encouragement of smokers to quit smoking, recommendations of cessation services, and attitudes about other tobacco and nicotine products.

It is important to evaluate the Tips campaign in a context that assesses the dynamic nature of tobacco product marketing and uptake of various tobacco products, particularly since these may affect successful cessation rates. Survey instruments may be updated to include new or revised items on relevant topics, including cigars, noncombustible tobacco products, and other emerging trends in tobacco use.

The total response burden is estimated at 9,308 annual hours. Approval is requested for three years between early fall 2023 and December 2026. Participation is voluntary and there are no costs to respondents other than their time.