Note: World Lung Foundation united with The Union North America. From January 2016, the combined organization is known as “Vital Strategies.”
(New York, United States) ––World Lung Foundation today called on the Government of Uruguay to invest in national anti-tobacco mass media campaigns in order to further reduce smoking prevalence. The International Tobacco Control Policy Evaluation Project’s Uruguay National Report, published today, found that graphic mass media campaigns in 2005 and 2006, designed to support the introduction of smokefree laws in 2006, enjoy better recall among smokers than more recent campaigns on the harms of smoking or the benefits of quitting – suggesting that these newer campaigns could be improved in order to deliver behavior change among smokers.
Sandra Mullin, Senior Vice President, Policy and Communications, World Lung Foundation said: “Uruguay has made significant progress in tobacco control in recent years. Its clear leadership in several policy areas – notably the introduction of large graphic health warnings and the banning of multiple brand presentations – has been an example to others both in Latin American and across the world. This report makes clear that the right policy framework could deliver further significant progress in reducing smoking prevalence.
“Graphic pack warnings are highly effective in delivering messages to smokers, but they may not be highly visible to non-smokers or youth. This is why mass media campaigns have a particularly important role to play in changing attitudes about the harms of smoking among smokers and non-smokers alike. Mass media campaigns can deter youth from initiating smoking and provide family members and friends with key information to nudge smokers to change their behavior and quit. They are also a key component in encouraging people to support the implementation and enforcement of tobacco control policy initiatives.
“To effect change, strong and convincing anti-tobacco mass media campaigns need to be run several times a year, at a national level – over the long term. To date, this has been a gap in Uruguay’s armor in the fight against tobacco. Higher taxation of tobacco products, plain packaging and sustained national-level mass media campaigns could mark the end-game for tobacco in Uruguay.”
Research has shown that mass media campaigns are one of the most effective means to encourage people to stop using tobacco. 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. 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.