State selects GKV Advertising to continue anti-smoking campaign

Daily Record, The (Baltimore), May 20, 2004 by Debra Siedt

Hoping to reach more people despite working with fewer state dollars, GKV Advertising Inc. in Baltimore plans to launch a new component to its Smoking Stops Here campaign.

GKV won the state's anti-smoking advertising contract yesterday for a third consecutive year. This year's contract provides $1.3 million - 67 percent less than last year's $4 million, 90 percent less than the previous year's $14 million.

After the first cut, the advertising firm shifted its more expensive mass media strategy to one focusing on grassroots marketing, said Roger Gray, president and chief executive officer of GKV. Even though it [funding] was cut substantially, it did not affect the effectiveness of the campaign.

And Gray remains optimistic despite a second reduction.

His firm is poised to start a new campaign - Here Club Card - in a few weeks. Gray says the campaign is the first of its kind in the country.

Retailers and fast-food restaurants will offer discounts to people who carry the club card. Last year, the GKV bought advertising time from Comcast cable. But the agency will not be able to continue mass advertising under the new budget.

I think it's unfortunate that the appropriation is less than we had hoped a few years ago, said Treasurer Nancy J. Kopp. Not many things are more important to the public health.

Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. has cut funding to tobacco prevention programs for two years even after a 1999 bill passed requiring Ehrlich to budget at least $21 million annually to the programs. During this legislative session, the appropriation was reduced to $12 million, half of what is required by state law.

We've had a tremendous level of success and there will be continued success, said Eric Gally, lobbyist for the American Cancer Society. But like anything else, you get what you pay for.

The program has seen tremendous success, according to advocacy groups and the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Cigarette smoking has declined 24 percent among high school students since 2001 and 12 percent among all adults. Overall, roughly 15 percent of Marylanders smoke.

The Ehrlich administration said the decrease in the number of people smoking leads to less revenue generated from cigarette taxes. Since less money is generated, there is less to appropriate to tobacco prevention programs.

A lot of that [appropriation] is dependent on the number of people smoking, said Henry Fawell, spokesman for Ehrlich. There has been a significant drop in the number of people who smoke in Maryland.

Maryland is not the only state that has cut in tobacco funding for programs, according to Gray.

All state are going though cuts, he said. Hopefully, if the economy continues to improve, the budget will be increased in the future.