Note: World Lung Foundation united with The Union North America. From January 2016, the combined organization is known as “Vital Strategies.”
(Dakar, Senegal) – Today marks the launch of the first-ever national mass media campaign to warn Senegalese people about the harms of tobacco. The campaign, developed by the Ministry of Health and Social Action and World Lung Foundation, graphically depicts the tar that collects inside an average smoker’s lungs. The campaign, called ‘Sponge,’ will air on TV, radio, outdoor venues and SMS for eight weeks. It is hoped that this campaign will not only empower citizens with new knowledge but will also spur advocacy and government policies to protect citizens from tobacco.
‘Sponge,’ which was tested rigorously among groups of citizens across Senegal, has already aired in Australia, China, India, Mauritius, Russia, the United States, and several other countries. The Senegalese version aims to inform millions of cigarette smokers in the country about the serious impact tobacco has on their health, to motivate them to quit before they become sick or encourage them not to start using tobacco.
Tobacco smoke contains more than 4,000 chemical compounds in the form of gases and millions of tiny particles. Tar is the common name and an acronym (Total Aerosol Residue) for all of those particles. Each particle in tar is composed of a variety of chemical compounds, many of which are known to cause cancer and other deadly diseases.‘Sponge,’ which was tested rigorously among groups of citizens across Senegal, has already aired in Australia, China, India, Mauritius, Russia, the United States, and several other countries. The Senegalese version aims to inform millions of cigarette smokers in the country about the serious impact tobacco has on their health, to motivate them to quit before they become sick or encourage them not to start using tobacco.
A Looming Crisis In Africa
Currently, three percent of all male deaths in Senegal can be attributed to tobacco use, but this number is set to skyrocket as the tobacco industry increases its efforts to addict more people to its products. Women in Africa, who have a relatively low smoking prevalence compared to other regions of the world, are of particular concern because of aggressive targeting by the industry. Initiation among young people is also a grave concern.
According to The Tobacco Atlas, almost 20% of youth in Senegal report having an item with a tobacco logo on it, with even higher percentages in Chad (30%), Niger (30%) and Mauritania (28%). This data suggest young people are being subjected to aggressive marketing to addict a new generation of users.
Across Africa the Tobacco industry activity is booming. According to The Atlas, four African countries – Mozambique, Zambia, Mali and Ghana – are among the top five countries with the greatest increase in tobacco production in the last decade; and cigarette consumption in the Middle East and Africa combined increased by 57 percent between 1990 and 2009.
Sandra Mullin, Senior Vice President, Policy and Communications, World Lung Foundation said, “The epidemic is young in Senegal and already there are too many lives being lost to tobacco. If we do not make the public adequately aware of the risks, we allow the epidemic to take root and grow into a catastrophe for the country. Citizens must also demand government action to protect them from the ill health caused by tobacco and mass media campaigns like ‘Sponge’ provide a push to policy movement.” Ms. Mullin called for strong comprehensive tobacco control legislation to protect Senegalese citizens from the harms of tobacco and smoking. National legislation is expected later this year.
Research has shown that mass media campaigns are one of the most effective means to encourage people to stop smoking. 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.