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The Faces & Stories Behind the Numbers Question of the Month Earlier this year many of us shared the stories behind our tobacco control work. For many, a personal experience with tobacco addiction or the loss of a loved one to a tobacco-related disease were motivating factors. This month, we're going to collect more such examples and use them to paint a global picture of Big Tobacco's theft of what is most priceless to us: the health and lives of family members and friends. The World Health Organization projects that if current rates of smoking continue, 10 million people will die annually from tobacco by 2030 -- 70 percent in low-income countries. As tobacco control advocates, we often quote statistics like these, but more powerful than the numbers themselves are the stories behind them. In the U.S. tobacco control advocates have found personal testimonies
to be an effective tool in counteracting tobacco industry "public
relations" and mobilizing support for tobacco control legislation*.
This month we will gather more examples, not just from the U.S., but Question: How has tobacco personally
effected you, a loved one, and/or someone in your community? Your answer needn't be long -- 1-2 paragraphs is perfect. Feel free
to conclude with a specific demand of the tobacco industry re: their operations
in your country and abroad. If possible, please send (by email or mail)
a photograph to complement the story you share. (For an example, read
an excerpt from GPTC participant Pat Hale's contribution to Oregon's "Wall
of Hope" project Please share your answer with your partner and send a copy to Essential Action, so that we can add them to the GPTC website. We encourage you and your partner to turn this month's question into a mini-project, by each collecting and sharing 5-20 examples. You and your partner may want to use your examples to garner local media coverage, put together an exhibit, and/or to educate policy makers in your respective communities about tobacco's local and global toll. Let's shine a light on the faces and stories behind the numbers! * This past April in Oregon, for example, 25 people participated in a
"Wall of Hope" project by writing letters to the Governer about
how tobacco had affected themselves and their families. The letters (and
accompanying photos) were gathered by the state coalition, put onto a
display board that was taken to the state capital, and used to encourage
state legislators to allocate a significant portion of the state's tobacco
settlement dollars to tobacco prevention. Similarly, Infact has collected personal stories and photos from around
the country for its "Human Toll of Tobacco" project (http://www.infact.org/about.html)
Infact has found banners with photos of tobacco's victims to be a visually
effective prop at demonstrations. Another website, with stories and photos of survivors:
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