In 2015, the DOH (short for Department of Health) collaborated with the WLF (World Lung Foundation), and New Vois Association of the Philippines to launch a nationwide anti smoking campaign in the Philippines.

The goal of the campaign is to raise awareness of the threat of tobacco to adults, children, and even non-smokers. The name of the campaign is ‘Cigarettes Are Eating You Alive’ and it was aired on many Philippines’ national television channel starting the 15^th of August.

 

 

The campaign encouraged smokers to quit smoking and also promoted the nation’s anti-smoking laws. It also supported anti smoking campaign slogans and warning images on cigarette packs. These photos show neck cancer, stroke, and oral cancer, as well as stroke and laryngeal cancer in babies.

Cigarettes Are Eating Your Baby Alive - Anti Smoking Campaign Ideas

According to Sandra Mullin, World Lung Foundation’s Senior Vice President, Policy, Advocacy, and Communication, research showed that national media coverage is among the most effective ways to inform and educate people about the harm of second-hand smoke and tobacco. This was also an anti smoking campaign for youth as it deterred the young from smoking and urged them to follow the smoke-free laws.

As said by Janette P. Loreto-Garin – the Health Secretary, citizens of the Philippines needed to know about the chronic and respiratory health issues caused by smoking. Plus, tobacco was determined as the main cause of non-communicable diseases in the country, which led to a massive loss of productivity and healthcare costs. She also said tobacco control policies must be implemented.

Some of the most notable measures were increasing the price of tobacco and printing graphic warnings on cigarette packs, as part of the wide anti smoking campaign in the Philippines, to urge smokers to quit or reduce their consumption.

 

 

 

According to Engr. Emer Rojas, the President and Founder of NVAP, smoking was among the causes of diseases and premature deaths among children and adults in the country. The death rate was 10 people each hour due to a disease caused by tobacco. Mass media coverage ensured behavior change and awareness-raising at a large scale. This measure was expected to add to the effectiveness of the graphic warnings printed on cigarette packs and anti smoking campaign in the Philippines.

As stated in the Tobacco Atlas, the Philippines saw 8.2% of women and 40% of men smoke. Cigarettes are the cause of 9.4% and 19.6% of female and male adult death respectively. This rate was much higher than that of other mid-income nations, hence the anti smoking campaign in the Philippines. Every year, the tobacco took the lives of around 71,850 people in the country.

 

 

According to the Philippines 2011 Global Youth Tobacco Survey, three out of five and two out of five youths in the 13-15 age bracket were exposed to SHS at home and outside the home respectively.

Evidence showed that the risk of people contracting lung cancer increases by 30% if they were exposed to SHS. In 2010, smoking was the cause of 600,000 deaths all over the world of non-smokers. Among the causes of death are asthma, lower respiratory infections, lung cancers, and chemic heart disease.

In the case of the Philippines, the country’s Cancer Society revealed that SHS was the primary reason of lung cancer that led to the death of 3,000 non-smokers.

With that in mind, Garin said that the Philippines saw 10 people died of tobacco consumption each day. That was why students must know about the harmful effect of tobacco and should never start smoking, which was another goal of the anti smoking campaign in the Philippines.

Research concluded that mass media coverage was effective in urging the public to quit smoking. These campaigns can raise awareness of the risk of smoking and encourage a change in behavior among nonsmokers and smokers.

The anti smoking campaign in the Philippines was part of the WHO’s MPOWER strategies to cut down on the consumption of cigarettes.

The campaign had the World Lung Foundation as the main partner and has the promotion of the Bloomberg Initiative to Reduce Tobacco Use.

Do you know that Internet addiction is as dangerous as the dependency on cigarettes? The only difference is that it affects a person's mental rather than the physical health.

Do Anti Smoking Ads Really Work?

Evidence shows that hard-hitting ads do work for anti smoking campaign success. Plus, those cause negative feeling are more effective than those do not.

It is believed that these ads encourage smokers to quit as well as reduce youth’s temptation to start.

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