Note: World Lung Foundation united with The Union North America. From January 2016, the combined organization is known as “Vital Strategies.”
(June 1, 2015, Beijing, China and New York, USA) – World Lung Foundation (WLF) today congratulated Beijing Municipal Government on its new comprehensive smokefree laws which have now come into effect. In addition, WLF applauded Beijing Patriotic Health Campaign Committee and Beijing Tobacco Control Association on the launch of a mass media campaign designed to increase awareness and encourage compliance with the legislation. WLF provided technical support in the design, testing and implementation of the mass media campaign, which includes posters, social media content and a 30-second Public Service Announcement (PSA). The campaign airs in Beijing from today on TV channels, subway and bus mobile TV channels, radio stations, information screens in hospitals and community offices and over social media channels including Weibo and wechat.
José Luis Castro, President and CEO, World Lung Foundation and The Union, said: “We applaud Beijing Municipal Government for implementing comprehensive smokefree laws to help protect the health of Beijing’s people and are delighted to support Beijing Patriotic Health Campaign Committee and Beijing Tobacco Control Association in the launch of a new mass media campaign to encourage compliance with the laws. Studies have shown that support for smokefree policies in China is higher than it was in Ireland before that country very successfully implemented smokefree laws. This public support will undoubtedly help to ensure the success of Beijing’s smoking bans, but strong enforcement and the use of mass media campaigns to increase awareness and encourage compliance are also vital to help protect public health.”
Titled “Restaurant”, the PSA encourages smokers and non-smokers to consider the dangers of second-hand smoke exposure among children. The PSA opens with a family ordering food in a restaurant where other diners are smoking. The child coughs because of her exposure to second-hand smoke. Viewers are then told about the deadly toxins present in second-hand smoke and graphically shown how it causes real health harms to children, including painful ear infections, asthma attacks and potentially deadly pneumonia. The PSA ends by showing the family happily ordering food in a smokefree restaurant and calls on smokers to comply with Beijing’s new smokefree laws.
Castro noted: “Beijing is the second largest city in China and the sixth largest city in the world with around twenty million residents, including millions of children. Research conducted by our team in Beijing found that some smokers were not aware that second-hand smoke could be so deleterious to child health. This campaign will help to change these misperceptions, which are founded in decades of misinformation and marketing by the tobacco industry, and encourage smokers and non-smokers to avoid exposing children to second-hand smoke. When smokers and stakeholders like restaurant owners are more aware of the benefits of smokefree laws – and the penalties for non-compliance – they are more likely to support and comply with those laws. We are delighted to have supported the design and implementation of this campaign, which we believe will help protect the health of millions of Beijing’s citizens, and especially its children.”
The benefits of smokefree laws
Smokefree laws benefit non-smokers and smokers alike. Non-smokers are exposed to significantly less second-hand smoke, while smokers tend to smoke less, have greater cessation success, and experience increased confidence in their ability to quit. These effects are greatest under the strongest bans. According to The Tobacco Atlas, smoking bans lead to overall reductions in smoking prevalence. A ban on smoking in all indoor workplaces can reduce the prevalence of smoking by 6 percent, and a ban on smoking in all indoor restaurants by 2 percent.
WLF has previously provided technical and financial assistance for campaigns to support 100% smoke free laws in Harbin and Shenzhen and has provided technical assistance to help roll out smokefree campaigns in Tianjin, Lanzhou, Qingdao, Xining, Tangshan and Guangzhou.
A significant body of scientific evidence shows that mass media campaigns are one of the most effective means to encourage people to stop smoking. Hard-hitting campaigns can compel tobacco users to quit, increase knowledge of the health risks of tobacco use, and promote behavior change in both smokers and non-smokers – including compliance with smoking bans. It is one of the World Health Organization’s M-P-O-W-E-R (W=Warn) strategies to reduce tobacco consumption. MPOWER strategies are endorsed and promoted by the Bloomberg Initiative to Reduce Tobacco Use, of which World Lung Foundation is a principal partner.