Tobacco control

Media's role and new challenges ahead:

The good news is, according to the new findings, equally or more effective anti - tobacco mass media campaigns have also helped to curb tobacco use in large scale. Some approaches work better than others. However, campaigns eliciting strong negative emotions tend to work better than humorous ones

Rasika SOMARATHNA

In a rapidly changing digital landscape, adapting to new challenges and understanding the role of media in reducing tobacco use is critically important.

However, the media's power works both ways, with studies finding that exposure to favourable coverage intended at promoting smoking being the vehicle for adolescents' first forays into smoking. On the other hand, anti-tobacco media campaigns have been enormously effective in curbing tobacco use among the youth.

However, the tobacco industry too has risen to the challenge adopting new and innovative means constantly, to carry their message across a larger population using the ever changing media mediums.

These messages have been moving to new media mediums that youth are particularly adept at, such as the Internet.

According to a recent study in the US, less than one percent of cigarette marketing expenditures are now used to advertise in traditional print media.

The report also says adolescents who often view smoking in movies or the internet are two or more times more likely to try smoking in the future.

According to Jeewaka Foundation - an organization in the forefront in Sri Lanka's anti - tobacco\alcohol drive, encouraging comprehensive bans on tobacco advertising, promotions and sponsorships are very effective at reducing tobacco use, especially among young people.

The Jeewaka Foundation which recently organized an interactive session between media personnel from various mediums and renowned local professionals engaged in the health field and anti tobacco\alcohol drive from both Government and Private sectors, says that partial advertising bans such as restrictions on billboards, only allow tobacco companies to find new ways to market their products.

Also according to them, the tobacco industry spends billions of dollars around the globe on advertising, sponsorships, and other forms of promotion. Also they do extensive research on habits, tastes, and desires of their potential customers and use the information to develop products and marketing techniques, based on the findings.

According to studies by the Foundation, youth exposed to tobacco advertising are more likely to smoke and have smoked earlier. When tobacco advertisements targeting young people are released, the demand for those brands and overall use of tobacco increase.

In addition, the tobacco industry has bullied the media into giving it favourable coverage by using the money allocated for advertising as a viable weapon. Another way to curry favour with the media has been by offering various perks to personnel such as foreign trips in the guise of holding press briefings.

According to a US survey cigarette producers in the States spent about $250 billion on advertising and promotion between 1940 and 2005, spending $13.5 billion in 2005 alone.

The study also found that to reach young people, the industry's advertising techniques specifically target the psychological pressures common to many youth, such as the desire to be popular and accepted by peers.

The United States' National Cancer Institute with the launch of its new monograph says "In the 20th Century, mass media helped create new generations of tobacco users even as evidence mounted about tobacco's terrible toll on health".

According to this review, tobacco advertising has mainly targeted youth, and as more restrictions are placed on advertising through traditional media, the industry has shifted to other approaches that reach youth just as effectively.

These include Internet, video games, product placement in films, price reductions, corporate sponsorship of concerts and cultural events popular with youth, and point-of-sale promotion. However, the good news is, according to the new findings, equally or more effective anti - tobacco mass media campaigns have also helped to curb tobacco use in large scale. Some approaches work better than others. However, campaigns eliciting strong negative emotions tend to work better than humorous ones.

These findings are consistent with earlier studies on media campaigns. To limit the media's role in encouraging the use of tobacco among youth the report outlines a number of strategies, such as a comprehensive ban on tobacco advertising and promotion, the placement of anti-tobacco messages before films, and efforts to increase public awareness of the tobacco industry's attempts to shut down effective public health campaigns. According to experts at the recently held forum in Colombo organized by the Jeewaka Foundation, the anti - tobacco propaganda too has gathered momentum with various organizations in the fray rising to the challenge by using innovative media and other campaign means to carry their message across.

Also political support for the cause has increased over the years with a number of countries imposing strong marketing restrictions. Both the World Health Organization and World Bank have recommended that countries prohibit all forms of tobacco advertising and promotion.

Accordingly, Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) has been adopted by many countries including Sri Lanka. Nations such as Finland, France, Italy, India, New Zealand, Portugal, Singapore and Thailand have restricted or banned tobacco advertising. Many other countries have passed legislation but have encountered various snags when implementing laws.

The Sri Lankan Government too has played a very pro-active role in this regard, by prohibiting advertising, promotion and sponsorship of all tobacco products with effect from December 2006.

None other than Head of State President Mahinda Rajapaksa has taken the lead in this respect by including combating tobacco, drugs and alcohol abuse in the number one chapter of his election manifesto - Mahinda Chinthana naming it as the Mathata Thitha Program. He has also vowed to totally eradicate the menace from the country by 2015.

According to the latest global reports, one out of every 10 elders die due to smoking related health complications. According to a World Bank report released in 1999, smoking related illnesses are expected to be the world's largest killer by 2030.

In the Sri Lankan scenario, experts predict that around 26,000 annual deaths due to smoking related illnesses. Also it is estimated that smokers spend Rs. 25 billion annually to buy cigarettes.

In this backdrop, it is pertinent to hear from some of the local experts what they have to say regarding media's role in the anti-tobacco campaign and ways and means of adapting to new challenges ahead. Certain views aired by some experts at the interactive session held in Colombo, organized by the Jeewaka Foundation also appear here.

Dr. Jayaweera Bandara, Deputy Director General - Dental Services of the Ministry of Health on Betel chewing and health : Betel chewing is as dangerous as smoking. However, the public sees this as a benign act in comparison to smoking, because they are not properly educated. In this regard, media can make a huge impact in taking the message across that tobacco chewing is as dangerous to health as smoking.