The media influence how we live--and die. Tobacco can kill us, yet we continue to smoke. Drinking and driving is a lethal combination, yet we continue to drive when inebriated. Poor diet slowly destroys us, yet we continue to eat unhealthily. Why? Evolving from a national conference, Mass Communication and Public Health examines why public information campaigns have achieved limited success and what can be done to improve their effectiveness. This up-to-date volume has a fourfold focus: