Moscow State Duma Public Health Commission and World Lung Foundation Launch Mass Media Campaign to Warn on the Harms of Smoking
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Contact: Jorge Alday, Public Relations Manager
(New York, NY and Moscow, Russia) - The Public Health Commission of Moscow City Duma launched a new mass media campaign today to warn millions of Russians about the personal harms of smoking and to urge them to quit. The campaign, called "Sponge", which visually depicts how the lungs of smokers are like sponges that soak up cancer-causing tar, can be seen on TV and street and metro billboards across Moscow and Moscow Region.
In "Sponge," a pair of hands is seen squeezing thick black tar from a sponge to illustrate the amount a pack-a-day smoker is exposed to every year. The campaign was developed with support from World Lung Foundation. It will run through the end of the year.
"Sponge", was rigorously pre-tested among focus groups in Moscow. Originally created in Australia, the ad has already been aired as part of tobacco control campaigns in that country as well as in the U.S., India and China with measurable impact. The ad has now been adapted for Russia.
Sandra Mullin, Senior VP Communications, World Lung Foundation said, "Hard hitting, highly visual messages can motivate people to stop smoking. This campaign was rigorously tested among smokers in Moscow and uses a graphic approach to communicate that smoking can cause serious damage to people's lungs. We congratulate the Moscow City Duma for running this campaign and look forward to efforts to reduce the tobacco epidemic in Russia."
Research has shown that mass media campaigns are one of the most effective means to encourage people to stop smoking. It is one of 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.
Tobacco use is the leading preventable cause of mortality in the world today, and is responsible for more than five million deaths each year – one in ten adults worldwide.
***NOTE TO EDITORS: Screen shots and video copies of all ads are available upon request.
About World Lung Foundation
World Lung Foundation was established in response to the global epidemic of lung disease, which kills 10 million people each year. The organization improves global lung health by improving local capacity to conduct research, develop public policy and deliver public health education. The organization's areas of emphasis are tobacco control, tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, asthma, and child lung health. For more information, please visit worldlungfoundation.org