Note: World Lung Foundation united with The Union North America. From January 2016, the combined organization is known as “Vital Strategies.”
(New Delhi, India and New York, USA) – A new tobacco control campaign called ‘Tears You Apart’ was launched today in India to warn people about the deadly effects of smokeless tobacco. The campaign, developed by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare with technical support from World Lung Foundation and Bloomberg Philanthropies, graphically depicts the dangers of smokeless tobacco, which is used by tens of millions of Indians every day. A companion website (www.actionagainsttobacco.in) linked to Facebook.com/QuitTobaccoIndia will also launched today so that supporters can meet, discuss and take action against smokeless tobacco.
Smokeless tobacco is the most-used form of tobacco use in India with lower socio-economic groups and women, in particular, preferring smokeless tobacco over smoking forms. (1) According to the Global Adult Tobacco Survey, 26% of adults consume smokeless tobacco in India – 33% of adult males and 18.4% of adult females. (2) Smokeless tobacco includes: gutkha, zarda, paan masala, paan with tobacco, and khaini.
‘Tears You Apart’ began airing on all national and regional Doordarshan channels and All India Radio in May 2013, and will begin airing on all private TV and radio channels from today. The campaign has been released in 16 languages for a duration of five weeks. The ‘Tears You Apart’ public service announcement (PSA) was filmed in B. Barooah Cancer Institute in Guwahati, Assam and at the Tata Memorial Hospital in Mumbai, Maharashtra. The PSA features real victims who are suffering from horrific cancers and disfigurements as a result of their chewing addiction. It also includes comments from relatives of chewing tobacco users, who describe how tobacco-related illnesses have destroyed careers, family life, and added to financial burdens.
Sandra Mullin, Senior Vice President, Policy and Communication, World Lung Foundation says, “The victims of smokeless tobacco and their families are, in many ways, the best people to explain how this habit tears lives apart. True stories of suffering are simply harder to ignore. We hope India’s millions of smokeless users will internalize the potential pain they could be inflicting on themselves and their loved ones, and this recognition will prompt them to stop using tobacco entirely.”
Research has shown that mass media campaigns are one of the most effective means to prompt 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. M-P-O-W-E-R strategies are endorsed and promoted by the Bloomberg Initiative to Reduce Tobacco Use, of which World Lung Foundation is a principal partner.
The ‘Tears You Apart’ TV and radio public service announcements are available upon request.
(1) India National Family Health Survey-3, 2005-2006
(2) WHO. Global Adult Tobacco Survey: Inida. 2009-10.