Every so often, a study comes along that makes you stop and think, “Yes! This is why we do this work.”

The FDA recently shared research showing that its youth vaping prevention campaign, The Real Cost, prevented an estimated 450,000 young people from starting to use e-cigarettes in a single year. It's an encouraging reminder that thoughtful public health communications can do more than raise awareness: they can change behavior.

Tobacco and nicotine in our communities is a complicated issue. Decades of tobacco industry marketing, changing products, social influences, addiction, and unequal access to support have all shaped how people think about nicotine—and how hard it can be to quit or avoid starting in the first place. After nearly 30 years of tobacco prevention and cessation work,MORE has learned that meaningful behavior change starts with understanding those realities. That means listening to people, learning what's getting in their way, and creating messages that reflect their experiences rather than talking at them.

That was the approach behind our recent MTCP campaign: This Ad Won't Make You Quit Vaping. In our research, we spoke with young adults across Massachusetts and paired those conversations with survey research to better understand the differences between those who quit and those who didn’t. Instead of talking at people, the campaign met them where they were with honesty, empathy, and practical support. During the first phase of the campaign, enrollments in the MA Quitline among 18- to 24-year-olds more than tripled.

The FDA's findings are another reminder that when we take the time to understand people first, communication is so much more than sharing information. That's the kind of work we're proud to be part of.