#NoTobaccoDay Campaign Launched To Improve Tobacco Control Policies
Vital Strategies marks World No Tobacco Day with media campaigns and initiatives around the world that highlight the deadly effects of tobacco use, secondhand smoke and the efforts of governments to implement proven solutions.
It also launched a global social media campaign, #WomenAgainstTobacco, highlighting efforts led by women to promote tobacco control and protect the health of millions around the world.
The campaign will highlight a selection of women from different backgrounds and countries who have taken a stand against the tobacco industry, and the variety of roles women can play in this effort.
This ranges from Ike in Indonesia, who suffered secondhand smoke-related throat cancer and now works to support smoke-free laws, to Brazil’s Paula Johns, a long-standing tobacco control advocate who supported the adoption of strong health policies including smoke-free regulations, graphic pack warnings and the ban on flavored tobacco products.
“This World No Tobacco Day, we applaud the governments and people who are taking action against the world’s leading preventable killer – tobacco use,” said Sandra Mullin, Senior Vice President of Policy, Advocacy and Communication at Vital Strategies.
Globally, women account for only 16 per cent of adult smokers but 28 per cent of global tobacco-related deaths. We know that women’s voices can be a powerful force in reducing this burden, both as champions for tobacco control and role models for the next generation of women and girls.
In India, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare is relaunching three campaigns nationally: “Clinical,” which shows the dangers of secondhand smoke; “Tobacco Tears You Apart,” which features a patient who developed cancer related to chewing tobacco; and “What Damage Will This Cigarette Do,” which links smoking to stroke, cancer, lung disease and heart disease. These three campaigns will be on air for a period of three weeks on various national TV and Radio channels across India.
