Skopje-- The Ministry of Health and USAID have launched an innovative public information campaign tackling the subject of passive smoking; that is, the effects that smoking has on other people in the environment. This is the first time in Macedonia the issue of passive smoking has been raised in an advertising campaign. The message is clear: there’s nothing passive about it – passive smoking is harmful to health.
Passive smoking includes exposure to ‘side stream smoke’ released from the burning tip of a cigarette, and ‘main stream smoke’ - smoke inhaled and then exhaled by a smoker. Other terms used to describe passive smoking include involuntary smoking, second-hand smoke or environmental tobacco smoke.
Speaking at the launch of the campaign, USAID Mission Director Dick Goldman said, “For years research has shown that exposure to second-hand smoke not only worsens existing health problems but also directly harms health. For instance, passive smoking can increase your risk of lung cancer by 20 to 30%, heart disease by 25 to 35%, and stroke by 80%. The air in a room where people are smoking contains around 4,000 chemicals, some of which are known to cause cancer. The facts are clear: passive smoking is a deadly serious threat to people’s health and well-being.”
The public information campaign in Macedonia consists of two television and radio advertisements, accompanied by a leaflet which will be distributed through national newspapers. The first advertisement focuses on smoking in the home and how this can affect children, who are especially vulnerable. The advertisement points out that many children are hospitalized each year because their parents smoke. 85% of second-hand smoke is odorless and invisible, yet it can still cause significant damage.
Young children’s bronchial tubes are smaller than those of adults, causing them to breathe faster and take in more harmful chemicals than an adult would in the same amount of time. Babies and young children spend a great deal of time at home or indoors, and are unable to choose whether they wish to be in a smoky room or not.
The second advertisement shows two young men in a public place chatting. One man suddenly starts coughing over the other, which looks very unpleasant and unhealthy. The cough then transforms into cigarette smoke and the friend is surrounded by it. The ad questions why you would let someone breathe smoke over you when you wouldn’t tolerate the same person coughing in your face.
Mr. Goldman added: “Recent research studies have found that there is no doubt at all that passive smoking significantly increases the risk of serious illness. No infant, child or adult should be exposed to second-hand smoke. This new campaign will raise public awareness about the dangers of passive smoking to everyone. We are encouraging smokers not to expose others to the damaging health effects of their habit, and advising non-smokers to be less accommodating about the smoking of others.” |