Note: World Lung Foundation united with The Union North America. From January 2016, the combined organization is known as “Vital Strategies.”
(Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire and New York, USA) –The first-ever regional anti-tobacco mass media campaign launched across Francophone Africa today,he first-ever regional anti-tobacco mass media campaign launched across Francophone Africa today, including nationwide rollout of the campaign in Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Senegal and Benin. The campaign, called Idrissa, is designed to warn people about the health harms of tobacco and the toll cigarettes take on smokers and their families.
Launched locally today by Ministries of Health across Francophone Africa, Idrissa was developed with technical and financial support from World Lung Foundation and support from the Africa Tobacco Control Alliance (ATCA), American Cancer Society (ACS) and The International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease. The campaign was enabled by funding from The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Bloomberg Philanthropies, through the Bloomberg Initiative to Reduce Tobacco Use.
Idrissa tells the story of Idrissa Diallo, a tailor living in Guinea Bissau, 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 PSA was created. The campaign also includes a quit line in Côte d’Ivoire (call 143) as well as quit tips.
Idrissa is the first anti-tobacco ad developed specifically for francophone Africa. Airtime has been purchased across broadcast media in four countries to ensure the advertisement is seen by the greatest possible number of people. It will run on television for one month.
“When you're young, unfortunately, you don’t particularly think about the future and there is no particular health program to follow or adhere to,” said Dr. Coulibaly of the Ministry of Health in Côte d'Ivoire. “The Ministry for Health focuses especially on youth and addresses, high school and middle school students. It is our youth where the future of tobacco control rests. If this campaign works for them, it will work for all.”
Peter Baldini, Chief Executive, World Lung Foundation, commented: “We are delighted to have worked with the Ministries of Health who have joined this campaign including Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Senegal and Benin to air Idrissa across the region. This hard-hitting, graphic campaign shows viewers the terrible truth about smoking, both the real health harms to individuals and the devastating consequences for their families. Tobacco use has deprived Idrissa’s family of its main earner, left his wife a widow and his children without a father. This reality bears no relation to the glamorous images and misleading messages peddled by the tobacco industry. African countries are increasingly the target of such devious marketing, so governments must act now to prevent millions more people suffering Idrissa’s fate.”
A recent 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, 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.
Tobacco use in Côte d’Ivoire
Tobacco use is a growing problem in Côte d’Ivoire. According to the DHS and Tobacco Atlas,* 25.1 percent of adult males are current smokers, as are 1.8 percent of adult females. Youth smoking rates are estimated to be 19.3 percent. Smoking is estimated to be responsible for 9 percent of all adult male deaths in Côte d’Ivoire.
Tobacco Use in Francophone Africa
| Country |
Male Smoking Prevalence |
Female Smoking Prevalence |
Male Youth Smoking |
Exposure to Secondhand Smoke |
| Burkina Faso | 23.7% | 4.0% | 14.1% | 32.9 |
| Sénégal | 17.7% | 0.2% | 12.1% | 47.6 |
| Bénin | 10.6% | 0.9% | 3.3% | 21.5 |
| Côte d'Ivoire | 25.1% | 1.8% | 19.3% | 33.1 |
*Sources, Demographic and Health Service (2010-12) and Tobacco Atlas IV
Significant Progress in Tobacco Control in West Africa in 2014
Earlier this year, the government of Senegal passed a comprehensive tobacco control law, aimed at protecting non-smokers, encouraging current smokers to cut down and quit and dissuading youth from initiating tobacco use. It includes an increase in tobacco taxes; a commitment to ensuring that the tobacco industry does not interfere with health policy; comprehensive smoke-free laws; a comprehensive ban on advertising; the introduction of graphic and text health warnings to cover 70 percent of cigarettes packs; and a ban on the sale of cigarettes inside and near schools, universities, hospitals, and government buildings. Benin recently drafted a new tobacco control bill compliant with international tobacco control treaty standards. The legislation is expected shortly. Côte d'Ivoire recently added financial penalties for establishments and smokers that do not comply with the country’s smoke-free law. Graphic Pack Warnings are also expected to be implemented soon in Burkina Faso.