Online Ads Could Help Deliver Important Health Messages

Those pesky ads that show up in Internet searches might have a new use — to deliver public health messages that aim to prevent cancer, a new study suggests. In the study, researchers used the online advertising service Google Ads to create advertisements aimed at preventing skin cancer linked to indoor tanning. The ads contained warnings about the harms of tanning beds, and directed people who clicked on them to information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.