The relationship between empathic responses to a targeted anti-smoking campaign and smoke-free intention among adolescents: A cross-sectional analysis by smoking status

Introduction

Anti-smoking campaigns have been widely implemented to reduce adolescent smoking. However, these campaigns have heavily relied on fear appeals that emphasize the negative consequences of smoking. This study examined an alternative strategy based on empathy in a youth-targeted anti-smoking campaign. Specifically, it aimed to investigate the relationship between adolescents' empathic responses to the campaign and their smoke-free intention, as well as the moderating role of smoking status in this relationship.