A new study shows that students who watch state-sponsored anti-tobacco ads are significantly less likely to have smoked in the past 30 days than students who did not see as many of the ads.

The study, in the July issue of the journal "Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine," also showed that students who saw the ads were more likely to perceive the harms of smoking and would definitely not be smoking in five years.

Hawai'i Health Director Chiyome Fukino said the study demonstrates why tobacco settlement dollars are needed to prevent teen smoking.

"Hawai'i's aggressive counter-marketing campaigns are an effective investment that are showing promise in reducing youth smoking that will eventually save lives and reduce smoking-related healthcare costs," she said.

The study involved more than 51,000 students in the 75 largest media markets in the country and used Nielsen TV ratings data to measure the exposure of 12- to 17-year-olds to anti-tobacco advertising.

Researchers from Bridging the Gap, a policy research program based at the University of Illinois at Chicago and the University of Michigan conducted the study.

About 1,000 people a year in Hawai'i die from smoking related causes, costing $525 million annually in healthcare bills and lost productivity, according to the state.