Note: World Lung Foundation united with The Union North America. From January 2016, the combined organization is known as “Vital Strategies.”
(New York and Dakar, Senegal) – Calls to Senegal’s national tobacco quit line surged 588 percent during April and May 2013, compared to the previous two months period, according to data released by the Ministry of Health and Social Action and World Lung Foundation today. The calls coincide with an intense national campaign to warn people about the harms of tobacco.
The campaign, called ‘Sponge,’ 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. It aired on TV, radio and billboards beginning April 2 for eight weeks. During this time 1,625 calls were received by the Ministry of Health and Social Action compared to 236 during February and March 2013. Call volume peaked at 60 on April 2 and at 61 on May 31, the two most intense days for media activity.
‘Sponge,’ which was tested rigorously among groups of citizens across Senegal, aims to inform millions of cigarette smokers about the serious impact tobacco has on their health, to motivate them to quit before they become sick and to support tobacco control policies. Calls to the quit line are a strong indicator that smokers responded to the campaign’s main message.
Petition To Support National Law Gaining Momentum
In addition to the mass media campaign, a website called SansTabac.sn also launched in this time period to enable Senegalese citizens to show their support for a strong tobacco control law by signing a petition. Such a law should include:
• Increasing the price of tobacco through taxation
• Establishing 100% smoke-free public places
• Enforcing total bans on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship
• Running sustained graphic mass media campaigns such as “Sponge”
• Regular monitoring of trends in tobacco use
“The research suggested the campaign would motivate smokers to try and quit, but this response has been even stronger than we expected which is further proof that people don’t want to be addicted to a product that kills them,” said Professor Awa Marie Coll-Seck, Minister of Health and Social Action. She added, “Even if a fraction of those calls result in successful quit attempts, we will have saved many, many lives from tobacco related disease.”
“We are pleased that the government of Senegal has promoted a rigorous approach to public education and that campaign is already showing good results,” said Sandra Mullin, Senior Vice President, Policy and Communications, World Lung Foundation. “One campaign, however, cannot undo all of the tobacco industry’s marketing efforts so we must ensure these campaigns, and other tobacco control activities are part of a national health policy going forward.”
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.