Turkey - dangers of secondhand smoke media campaign..

July 21, 2009 - To coincide with Turkey's ban on smoking in cafes, restaurants and bars that begun on July 19, 2009 the World Lung Foundation, Turkish NGO Green Crescent (Yesilay), municipal governments, and Turkish Ministry of Health worked together to air a new media campaign warning of the dangers of secondhand smoke (SHS, passive smoking, involuntary smoking, sidestream smoke, environmental tobacco smoke, ETS).

The mass media campaign called ‘Sigarani da Beni de Yakma!’ vividly shows second-hand smoke can harm non-smokers, especially children. The campaign is being aired on national TV with support from the Turkish Ministry of Health, and on more than 500 billboards and 20 overpass advertising in Istanbul through investment from the Istanbul Governarate. Gaziosmanpasa and Izmit Municipalities are also adopting the campaign.

The campaign is part of Yesilay’s broader “Smoke-Free Istanbul” project which also includes a toll-free action hotline that people can call to learn more about their rights to smoke-free public places and how to report violations.

Research has shown that mass media campaigns are an effective strategy to help people stop smoking, and a key component of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) M-P-O-W-E-R (W=Warn) policy package. MPOWER is endorsed and promoted by the Bloomberg Initiative to Reduce Tobacco Use, of which World Lung Foundation is a principal partner.

World Lung Foundation has provided financial and technical support to governmental and civil society for communications campaigns to inform Turkish citizens about the smoke-free law and the harms of second-hand smoke.

Reference: TURKISH GREEN CRESCENT AND WORLD LUNG FOUNDATION LAUNCH MASS MEDIA CAMPAIGN TO SUPPORT 100% SMOKE FREE TURKEY, Press Release, World Lung Foundation, 7/19/2000. To view media TV ad click on this address.

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