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Tobacco Victims Tell the Real Story Behind Bangladesh’s Pictorial Warnings

(April 28th, 2016, Dhaka, Bangladesh) – Mr. Mohammed Nasim, MP, Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, today launched a compelling national mass media and social media campaign – People Behind The Packs – featuring victims of tobacco use. The campaign, which was produced with technical support from Vital Strategies (formerly World Lung Foundation), is designed to reinforce the nine graphic health warnings mandatory on 50 percent of all tobacco packs – including beedies, cigarettes and all forms of smokeless tobacco – sold in Bangladesh since 19th March 2016. It graphically shows the testimony of people suffering from several life-threatening illnesses depicted in the new warnings – including oral, throat and lung cancers and asthma – and urges people to quit tobacco use.

Health Minister Mr. Mohammed Nasim, MP stated: “We make no apologies for the graphic nature of these public service announcements. These are the real stories of people from our community – no one is better placed to tell us about the harm that resulted from their own tobacco use or their exposure to secondhand smoke. These individuals face disabling and life threatening conditions which have made them unable to secure income for their families and created additional costs for treatment and care, as well as considerably shortening their life expectancy. They are the real people behind the graphic pack warnings you now see every time you look at a tobacco pack. They and many others like them are the reason why our government, like those in 77 other countries, has enacted graphic warnings and is reinforcing those warnings with this powerful campaign.”

José Luis Castro, President and Chief Executive Officer, Vital Strategies commented: “We are delighted to have supported Bangladesh’s Government in developing and delivering this campaign, which shows the real impact of smoking and smokeless tobacco use – not the glamorous fantasy the tobacco industry wants Bangladeshis to see. It highlights why the tobacco industry is so desperate to stop graphic warnings on tobacco packs – because they remind every current tobacco user and every young person thinking about using tobacco that it causes deadly harm to people just like them. We believe that the combination of the new graphic warnings and this campaign will save lives and encourage Bangladeshis to amplify the message by sharing the content on the People Behind The Packs website.”

The “People Behind The Packs” Campaign

The People Behind The Packs campaign has a clear message – “There are now new health warnings on all tobacco packs – See them and believe them!” A series of four, 30-second Public Service Announcements (PSAs) feature patients who have been receiving treatment from cancer hospitals in Dhaka, holding up cigarette packs that carry a health warning related to their specific illness.

The PSAs were pre-tested among groups of tobacco users in urban and rural settings in Bangladesh, who rated them very highly across indicators such as: I would talk to someone else about this message; (It) Makes me feel motivated to quit smoking, (It) Increases my confidence to quit smoking, and (It) Increases my support for government actions to stop tobacco use. Almost all of the respondents agreed that the four patient testimonials: (Are) Easy to understand, (Are) Believable, Taught me something new, and Made me stop and think. Based on Vital Strategies research across the globe, this indicates that the PSAs incorporate the necessary attributes to encourage behavior change.

Two of the PSAs – featuring a patient with asthma and a patient with throat cancer – will be broadcast across Bangladesh’s major TV channels over the next five weeks, in the lead-up to World No Tobacco Day on 31st May 2016. In addition, the campaign will run on posters and billboards in and around primary health centers, hospitals and schools across Bangladesh. It is supported by a social media campaign and website at www.packpeople.com.bd, where all four PSAs may be viewed. The website provides more information on the pack warnings and the people behind the packs, as well as providing tips and cessation advice to tobacco users. In addition, the website hosts an online petition enabling Bangladeshis to show their support for the implementation of plain packaging – the main theme of World No Tobacco Day on 31st May.

Professor Sohel Reza Choudhury, Head of the Department of Epidemiology and Research at the National Heart Foundation Hospital & Research Institute, one of the hospitals treating the tobacco victims featured in the PSAs, declared: “The images on tobacco packs tell the terrible stories of patients who fill our hospitals every day. This is only the tip of the iceberg of carnage caused by the tobacco industry and its deadly products. While tobacco causes the death of more than 92,000 Bangladeshis every year, many more suffer from tobacco-related disease. That burden will only continue to increase as more than 164,000 Bangladeshi children and more than 25 million Bangladeshi adults use tobacco daily, with the number of tobacco users still growing.”

According to The Tobacco Atlas, tobacco is the cause of 14.6% percent of adult male deaths and 5.7% percent of adult female deaths in Bangladesh – more than the average in other low-income countries. Tobacco-related disease – including stroke – kills almost 100,000 Bangladeshis every year while another 382,000 suffer from chronic illnesses caused by tobacco.

The People Behind The Packs PSAs and images and transcripts from the campaign are available upon request. 

Research has shown that mass media campaigns and large graphic pack warnings are among the most effective means to encourage people to stop using tobacco. Hard-hitting campaigns and images 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. They are featured in 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 Vital Strategies is a principal partner.

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 was formed when The Union North America and World Lung Foundation joined forces.  It 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