Through psychographic segmentation, we have found that Virginia teens who identify with the Country peer crowd are at a much higher risk for using chew or dip. Our challenge is to shift social norms within the Country peer crowd to discourage tobacco use.

High-risk Country teens are undeterred by broad health messaging about the health risks of tobacco use, so our intervention must position health information within the context of our audience and their values.

Since 2015 the “Down and Dirty” Campaign, targeting the Country Peer Crowd, has reached hundreds of thousands of Virginia teens who are at a higher risk of using tobacco and nicotine products such as chew, dip, and electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS).