Note: World Lung Foundation united with The Union North America. From January 2016, the combined organization is known as “Vital Strategies.”
(December 8th, 2015, Hanoi, Viet Nam, and New York, USA) World Lung Foundation (WLF) today congratulated the government of Viet Nam on the launch of a new national anti-tobacco mass media campaign. The campaign features two public service announcements (PSAs) that graphically illustrate how exposure to cigarette smoke causes harm to non-smokers, encouraging citizens to think about the harms of tobacco use, protect others from secondhand smoke (SHS), support smokefree laws and quit smoking. The PSAs will be broadcast on national TV, on LED screens in public places, and on social media channels until the end of January 2016. The campaign was developed and implemented by the Viet Nam Tobacco Control Fund (VNTCF) with financial support for the development of the PSAs and technical support from WLF, and builds upon the positive impact of previous campaigns on the harms of smoking and exposure to SHS in Viet Nam.
The two new featured PSAs are called “Invisible Killer – Office” and “Smokefree Restaurant.”
Invisible Killer – Office graphically shows how SHS travels around an office, far beyond the smoker’s desk. A voiceover describes how SHS attacks the vital organs of everyone who breathes it, increasing their chances of suffering heart disease and cancer, even if they’ve never smoked. The PSA also points out that 85 percent of secondhand smoke is invisible – hence the “invisible killer.”
Smokefree Restaurant graphically shows how SHS moves around a restaurant causing discomfort and illness to other people, particularly children. A voiceover informs the viewer that cigarette smoke contains thousands of toxic, poisonous substances, like cyanide and carbon monoxide and that it triggers severe health problems in children like painful ear infections, asthma attacks and deadly pneumonia. Both PSAs end with a message saying “To protect our health, the tobacco control law bans smoking in public places, in indoor workplaces and on public transportation” and a call to action to smokers to “Quit smoking in public places!”
The PSAs were selected after they were identified as being highly impactful during focus groups conducted in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. Both smokers and non-smokers said the PSAs increased their understanding of the harms associated with SHS. Almost all smokers agreed that the PSAs made them more concerned about exposing others to SHS, particularly children. In addition, more than eight in ten smokers said the PSAs made them more likely to avoid smoking in indoor public places and more than half of smokers agreed that the PSAs made them more likely to try to quit smoking. Thirty (30)-second versions of both PSAs will be broadcast on national TV channels, including VTV1, VTV2 and VTV3. The campaign will also air on social media and on LED screens in office buildings and health facilities throughout the country. The reach and frequency of the planned campaign means that the PSAs are likely to reach the majority of people between the ages of 15 and 64 years in Viet Nam.
Prof Luong Ngoc Khue, Director of the Viet Nam Tobacco Control Fund, said: “This campaign marks an important step forward for tobacco control in Viet Nam. We believe this powerful campaign will help to increase quit attempts, particularly among parents; encourage non-smokers to ask people not to smoke in their presence; and encourage more smokers to abide by Viet Nam’s smokefree laws. We thank World Lung Foundation for its technical support of this campaign and look forward to achieving real impact in the weeks and months ahead.”
Sandra Mullin, Senior Vice President, Policy, Advocacy and Communication, World Lung Foundation commented, “We congratulate the Ministry of Health and the Viet Nam Tobacco Control Fund on the launch of this powerful new campaign. Tobacco kills more than 72,000 people in Viet Nam every year – a disproportionate number of them female non-smokers – and sickens and disables many more. These PSAs have an important role to play in increasing awareness of the harms of smoking and secondhand smoke to smokers, their friends, work colleagues and families – ultimately changing opinions and behavior to benefit health.”
The burden of tobacco use in Viet Nam
The Tobacco Atlas notes that more than 14,769,000 adults and more than 120,000 children continue to use tobacco each day in Viet Nam. This includes 41.2 percent of men, 1.6 percent of women, 5.9 percent of boys and 1.2 percent of girls. Every year, more than 72,800 of Viet Nam’s people are killed by tobacco-caused disease. Tobacco is responsible for 22 percent of adult male deaths and 9.5 percent of adult female deaths – more than the average in other middle-income countries. The higher proportion of tobacco-related deaths among Vietnamese women (compared with the proportion of adult female tobacco users) suggests that women in Viet Nam suffer a disproportionate burden of death and disease from exposure to SHS. According to The Tobacco Atlas, SHS increases the risks of contracting lung cancer by 30 percent (small cell lung cancer by 300 percent) and coronary heart disease by 25 percent. Exposure to SHS killed more than 600,000 non-smokers globally in 2010 from causes of death including ischemic heart disease, lower respiratory infections, asthma, and lung cancers.
Research has shown that mass media campaigns 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. It is 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 World Lung Foundation is a principal partner.
The “Invisible Killer – Office” and “Smokefree Restaurant” PSAs and stills and transcripts from the PSAs are available upon request.