ABSTRACT
Rational and Background: Advertisements are forms of communication used to encourage or persuade an audience to continue or to take some new action, usually to purchase. Product and service adverts on Lao television have significantly increased recently. However, very little is known about the frequency of health- related adverts on Lao television and whether they are containing Lao appropriate public health messages. Study of the frequency and potential impact of health-related adverts might help us to better understand the situation and contribute to solving health-related problems of Lao people. Methodology: This was a descriptive study to describe the adverts on Lao television during three months (February – April 2011). All Lao television adverts broadcasted during three months were tape-recorded and information was extracted on a pre-designed form. All adverts were analyzed and classified as health-related and non health-related. The time of adverts was also calculated. Data were entered into excel sheet and analyzed using STATA 10.0. Results: During three months, 34 adverts were observed on all three Lao television channels. Of these, 28 (82%) were health-related and 6 (18%) were not. Of 28 health-related adverts, 10 (36%) were classified as good for Lao public health, 3 (11%) were considered as dangerous to health, and 15 (53%) were of uncertain classification. All three adverts regarded as ‘bad’ to health were advertising beverages containing alcohol or caffeine. The average advert durations were 1.5 minutes and 1 minute for those advertising alcohol- and caffeine- containing beverage. Over three months, 3,702 spots of these three adverts were on air with an average total exposure time of 82.5 hours, which was longer than those considered as ‘good’ for health (2,068 spots over 32.9 hours). Some products were exaggeratedly advertized which might mislead the audience and negatively affect their health. Conclusion: More than 80% of all Lao TV adverts were health-related, but 2/3 were classified as potentially harmful to health. The frequency and total duration of health-related adverts, which were considered to be harmful to health, were higher and longer, respectively, when compared to those considered to be good for health. This study suggests that Lao people are exposed to adverts that are contrary to the interests of Lao public health. Strict measures to ensure that advertisements are accurate and do not mislead people, persuading them to buy things that are not in the interests of Lao public health, are required.