Shows deadly harms of smoking to both smokers and non-smokers
(October 13th, 2016, N’Djamena, Chad and New York, USA) – Global public health experts, Vital Strategies, congratulate the Government of the Republic of Chad on a new campaign that graphically highlights the deadly harms of tobacco to smokers and non-smokers, especially children, exposed to second-hand smoke (SHS). The campaign includes two public service announcements (PSAs): “Idrissa” and “Tobacco Is Eating Your Baby Alive.”
Idrissa tells the story of Idrissa Diallo, a tailor, who started smoking cigarettes when he was a young man. After years of addiction, Idrissa developed a devastating mouth cancer that left him unable to work and provide for his family. So bad was the cancer that Idrissa could not even eat outside his home because local children were scared of his appearance. Tragically, Idrissa died of cancer two months after this advertisement was created. Idrissa’s image also appears on pack warnings in Chad.
Tobacco Is Eating Your Baby Alive graphically shows that cigarette smoke contains poisons including cyanide and carbon monoxide that trigger severe health problems in children and other non-smokers, including ear infections, asthma and respiratory symptoms, as well as serious infections like pneumonia, bronchitis and TB infection. It also notes that SHS contributes to low birth weight in babies and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and ends by encouraging smokers to quit tobacco use and protect children from the harms of SHS.
Vital Strategies collaborated with the Ministry of Health on the design and implementation of the campaign, which will be broadcast on national television and radio stations. “Idrissa” will be broadcast first, for a period of four weeks, followed by “Cigarettes Are Eating Your Baby Alive,” for a further four weeks.
According to The Tobacco Atlas, more than 54,000 children and 542,000 adults use tobacco in Chad each day (14.1 percent of men, 2.3 percent of women, 8.4 percent of boys and 4.3 percent of girls). The proportion of boys and girls who use tobacco is higher in Chad than in other low income countries. Tobacco kills 34 men and 17 women in Chad every week.
José Luis Castro, President and Chief Executive Officer of Vital Strategies, said: “We congratulate Chad’s government on this powerful new tobacco control campaign. There is no safe level of tobacco use. These hard-hitting, graphic PSAs show viewers the terrible truth about smoking, both the real health harms to smokers and non-smokers, and the devastating consequences for families deprived of a main earner, a spouse and a parent by tobacco-related disease. Better informed citizens are more likely to make healthier choices – like quitting smoking – that benefit their lives and those of their loved ones, so we are delighted to have collaborated with the Ministry of Health on this campaign.”
The PSAs and stills and transcripts from the PSAs are available upon request.
Notes to Editors
Tobacco’s deadly cost to Africa
A report by the Network of African Science Academies, “Preventing a Tobacco Epidemic in Africa: A Call for Effective Action to Support Health, Social, and Economic Development”, concluded that without concerted action to introduce and enforce tobacco control, smoking prevalence in the African region will increase by nearly 39 percent by 2030, from 15.8 percent in 2010 to 21.9 percent. This is the world’s largest expected regional increase in smoking prevalence. Similarly, the American Cancer Society estimates that the implementation of proven tobacco control policies could prevent 139 million premature deaths in the region by 2100. Tobacco control is critical because it has the potential to avoid an increase in tobacco-related non-communicable diseases such as cancer and heart disease and premature deaths that could hamper Africa’s economic growth and development.
About Vital Strategies
Vital Strategies envisions a world where every person is protected by a strong public health system. Our team combines evidence-based strategies with innovation to help develop sound public health policies, manage programs efficiently, strengthen data systems, conduct research, and design strategic communication campaigns for policy and behavior change. Vital Strategies is an affiliate of The International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union).
To find out more, please visit vitalstrategies.org or Twitter @VitalStrat
For further information or to arrange an interview with a Vital Strategies public health and tobacco control expert, please contact Tracey Johnston, Vital Strategies, at +44.7889.081.170 or tjohnston@vitalstrategies.org