Smoking is the leading cause of death and disability contributing to more than four million deaths today and is projected to contribute to ten million deaths annually by the 2030s. Western tobacco companies have rebounded from diminishing sales in the North America by aggressively targeting developing nations. The tobacco industry has taken advantage of a paucity of international regulations on marketing and distribution to advertise and exploit children and peasants in developing countries where 70% of all smoking-related deaths occur. Health policy makers and public health practitioners must face the daunting reality that the emerging pandemic of smoking related death and disability, but to date there are no major federal statutes or international regulations on tobacco commerce. We will describe an innovative program of media advocacy research that seeks to (1) Inform policy makers and opinion leaders on international tobacco control issues and public opinion (2) study the efficacy of media campaigns to promote implementation of specific global tobacco control initiatives and (3) disseminate new, effective, powerful and innovative tools of primary prevention of smoking. We performed focus group research of tobacco control activists from the American Cancer Society, tested media message concepts, developed scripts for radio public service announcement (PSAs)and pilot tested the scripts with health policy decision makers. C. Everett Koop, M.D., Sc.D. recorded four PSAs, which were subsequently aired on a Washington, D.C.-based radio station. Campaign results, formative research data from a newer Internet-based campaign and a parsimonious skill set of media campaign development will be presented.
Learning Objectives: 1. Recognize smoking as an emerging pandemic in the developing world of immense proportions 2. Identify key policy levers that are effective in reducing cigarette consumption 3. Name the key steps involved in developing an effective media campaign 4. Distinguish between motivational strategies targeting the general public and those strategies targeting health policy decision makers 5. Create a strategy to promote tobacco control policies in the learners' communities
Keywords: Media Advocacy, Tobacco Policy
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: The C. Everett Koop Institute at Dartmouth, The Brown University Center for Primary Care and Prevention and The Harvard Center for Society and Health and the Harvard Center for Cancer Prevention
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.