Engaging youth in anti-tobacco awareness campaigns in India

Abstract

Background and challenges to implementation: Tobacco use among school children is a serious problem in India. Lack of proper guidance, urge to imitate elders, peer pressure, misconceptions, easy availability of variety of tobacco products and innovative advertisements attract the children to tobacco. Salaam Bombay Foundation (SBF), under its leadership program conducts tobacco control awareness campaigns engaging the school children. Intervention or response: Since 2006 Salaam Bombay Foundation has launched various long term tobacco control awareness campaigns engaging the youth. The accompanying table has detailed information on the year/date of launch of awareness campaigns with their objectives and modes of implementation. Results and lessons learnt: Quit Tobacco Movement campaign in now extended to every school to advocate for quitting consumption of tobacco among children, communities etc. 'Life Se Panga Mat Le Yaar' campaign reached out to 165,000 to 227,000 people through radio stations and got 2,581 youtube views. It also earned print media attention in Times of India and Hindustan Times. In 'Election Campaign' program 692 children from three municipal schools in Mumbai participated. 2290 campaign slogans were collected from participating schools. 'Tambakhu ko Dishum" was an innovative online campaign to create awareness on tobacco which grabbed the attention of youth as well as media. After submission of demand charter during "Right to Tobacco Free School", government authorities discussed it with children and assured that official letters would be sent to all the schools in Mumbai to fulfill all the demands mentioned in demand charter. Conclusions and key recommendations: Engagement of empowered youth in the tobacco awareness campaigns helps to create awareness on tobacco control among their peers, community. Such campaigns involving youth will prove beneficial in reducing the tobacco habits in future generations of India. But, the effectiveness of the campaigns rests in utilizing energy and innovative minds of youth appropriately.