Oops! Mistakes we've made.
Lessons we've learned.

July/August 2002

Thanks to all of you who responded to July/August's question re: tobacco control "mistakes" and lessons learned from them. As always, there was a wide variety of responses: A tobacco control campaign that unintentionally sent the message that "foreign cigarettes are better than domestic ones" (Jordan). Lobbying for disclosure of tar and nicotine levels on cigarette packs -- information which does not provide meaningful health information (Mauritius). An over-emphasis on conferences and workshops with lectures and monologues (Colombia). Falling for industry rhetoric (USA/Senegal).

Below please find a compilation of your responses. Many will resonate across borders. No doubt that all of us have made our share of mistakes! Hopefully we can learn important lessons from them, and adopt more effective strategies as needed.

Mistake we've made...

IMPLYING THAT IMPORTED CIGARETTES ARE BETTER
The local tobacco companies started a large-scale promotion involving very big local events where girls gave out free cigarettes and attractive prizes for people who bought cigarettes. In response, we started a our own large-scale campaign on smoking hazards and the economical hardship caused by smoking, to raise public awareness that smoking is not "free" forever. Then we conducted some tests and found that local tobacco contains more toxic materials than imported brands. After 3 months we evaluated the campaign and found out that the smoking rate had decreased -- which was good news! However, through discussions we discovered that people have merely switched from local to imported cigarettes, which are more expensive than the local cigarettes. Since they couldn’t afford the same amount they used to smoke, the smoking rate decreased. So our mistake was as if we have convinced people that imported cigarettes are better than local ones! We then conducted another campaign to clarify our selves more, focusing on the bad influence of all cigarettes and the benefits of quitting.
(Muna Hamzeh - JORDAN)

CHOOSING WRONG ALLIES
In choosing our allies in the anti-tobacco fight, we realized at one point that we had not taken enough precaution. Some turned out perfectly useless and inactive, and others potential traitors. The anti-tobacco fight is one of risks, fragility, and great stakes: life, death, and money. Moral: Take great precaution in where you put your feet and always remain watchful.
(Véronique Le Clézio - MAURITIUS)

TOO MUCH EMPHASIS ON CONFERENCES & WORKSHOPS
In our country, I have realized that it is a mistake to believe that just a conference or a workshop on the harmful effects of cigarette consumption will be sufficient to offset the epidemic of cigarette use among our young. In particular, the standard format of conferences and workshops is worn out, often dominated by talking heads, monologues, and lectures. Our young people demand more active methods of exchanging ideas and learning, e.g. meetings at which all youth are encouraged to share their experiences (vs. one person presenting to all), theatrical pieces, etc.
(Guillermo Martinez Gallon - COLOMBIA)

SURVEY QUESTIONS THAT AREN'T RELAVENT TO ADVOCACY
Several years ago, while in Senegal, I spent a lot of time and effort conducting a survey of 900 high school students about their smoking habits, exposure to cigarette advertising, etc. One of the questions that I asked was, "For what reasons do you smoke?" Answers included: "it pleases me", peer pressure, etc. In retrospect, I realize that the information such a question gathered was probably a lot more useful for Philip Morris (which loves to list the multiple, complex causes of tobacco use -- conveniently omitting their own role!) than to tobacco control advocacy. While tobacco advertising plays a significant role in promoting cigarettes, it is a rare smoker that believes that they were "duped" into smoking. I learned that there is often a large difference between what people say and what is the truth.
      Much more useful for telling the story of the tobacco industry's role in promoting cigarettes to youth were the following questions: "What cigarette brand do you smoke?" and "The advertising of which brand of cigarette do you prefer the most? (Marlboro was by far the most popular answer for both); Have you ever attended a concert sponsored by a cigarette brand or been offered a free cigarette by a tobacco industry representative (60% and 34% had, respectively)? Do you own a tobacco brand promotional item (19% did)?; Where have you seen tobacco advertising: radio? television? concert? store? sporting event? The data makes a good case for why tobacco advertising should banned.
(Anna White - USA)

NOT SHARING RESPONSIBILITIES
Past mistake: not valuing "shy" members enough. By taking the risk of entrusting certain responsiblities to newcomers, an association insures it's continued viability. A danger that people who are passionate about their work must watch out for is their temptation to accomplish everything by themselves. An association can die a natural death when its founding "pillars" (who are not eternal!) [pass away or move on] -- meanwhile the population's addiction to smoking survives. The anti-tobacco fight is a noble cause which belongs to humanity, not to individuals. Moral: Ensure [the continuation of the fight] by having vision and by sharing tasks.
(Véronique Le Clézio - MAURITIUS)

LACK OF INFORMATION & RESOURCES
The Mouvement National des Consommateurs, engaged in the antitobacco fight due to conviction and not expertise, has committed many strategical errors -- sometimes due to ignorance and other times due to a lack of financial and human resources. Particularly those of us in Africa lack a minimum of materials to carry out our work. For example, to draft a press release, it is helpful to have, at very least, a computer. To have the press release aired on the radio or to organize a press conference, it is necessary to have the means to convene journalists and be able to pay their transportation expenses. Lack of these basic resources cause us to make regular errors in our tobacco control work. Our actions must amuse the tobacco industry which spends expends considerable resources to corrupt government officials -- to slow down the development and passing of strong legislation against tobacco.
(Alphonse Issi - CAMEROUN)

BALANCING BUDGETS WITH TOBACCO MONEY
The most serious mistake: allowing our tobacco monies to be used to temporarily balance the state budget. A budget that is still off the tracks for next year, despite the best (worst?) efforts of our elected representatives.
(Pam Guthman - USA - WI)

LOBBYING FOR DISCLOSURE OF TAR & NICOTINE RATES
Our ViSa association militated very strongly so that the rates of nicotine and tar are registered on the packages of cigarettes made and marketed in Maurice, as well as on the imported packages of cigarettes. We now see this as an error of judgment, due to the lack of adequate information.
        During the 4th round of FCTC negotiations, we learned, thanks to the document circulated by Framework Convention Alliance, that it is necessary to clarify "information about components and/or emissions in smoke, but only if these supply the consumer with useful information about the product. There should be no requirement for listing of tar, nicotine yields on packages" and that we should "abandon the methodology of the ISO." The system of using a smoking machine to measure the tar and nicotine content neither gives any useful information about the impact of the cigarette smoke on health, nor provides a useful base to establish legislation or to make a comparison between products. The ISO is dominated by the tobacco industry and should have only a strictly subordinate role in the WHO, to whom falls the responsibility for defining standards in health service. Moral: Confirm the legitimacy of one's tobacco control objectives before fighting (dimwittedly!) for them! It is not always easy to "rectify the shot"...
(Véronique Le Clézio - MAURITIUS)

TAKING ACTION IN ISOLATION
We believe that it has been a mistake to develop isolated actions that
do not feed into a larger campaign. We are working with a network of
teachers and youth in a "train the trainers" program designed to
multiply prevention actions at the grassroots level.
(Guillermo Martinez Gallon - COLOMBIA)

FALLING FOR INDUSTRY RHETORIC
In the early 1980's Senegal passed a strong tobacco control law which was later gutted due to pressure from Philip Morris and others. In negotiating revisions to the law, the tobacco industry agreed to continue printing health warnings on cigarette packets, as a sort of concession. They also agreed not to use to use the voice or image of anyone younger that 21 years of age in their tobacco advertisements. Initially, both of these "concessions" seemed positive to me. Later, I realized that neither were effective, and that they had been used to leverage support for gutting measures, e.g. a total advertising, that would certainly have lowered smoking rates.
       In Senegal, the health warning "Abuse may be dangerous to your health" is weak and nonspecific. Furthermore, over 70% of the population is not literate in French, the language of the warnings. But even if they were, the small, out-of-sight warnings would probably not have had much of an impact (does anyone think they do in the U.S.?). As for not using models under age 21, that's a perfect formula for attracting young smokers, who aspire to be older. I have since learned that one can always count on the the tobacco industry's so-called "tobacco control" positions and campaigns to be weak and ineffective. To understand the underlying hidden agendas and ulterior motives of industry "smoking prevention" initiatives, they must be analyzed from multiple angles - political, economic, socio-cultural, psychological.
(Anna White - USA)

MISSING AN OPPORTUNITY TO INVESTIGATE WHAT THE INDUSTRY IS UP TO
Having received a phone call from a polling firm, paid by BAT, we could have tried to gather more information about their methods and objectives if we had stayed longer on the phone, instead of declining at once their questions. Moral: An informed person is worth ten [un-informed persons]. Anti-tobacco activities must take advantages of opportunities that arise to investigate issues further.
(Véronique Le Clézio - MAURITIUS)

FAILING TO EVALUATE
It has been an error, especially in our country, to have realized many activities and not to have evaluated their effectiveness. It is important to gather quantitative and qualitative information regarding the success (or failure) of action campaigns.
(Guillermo Martinez Gallon - COLOMBIA)

EXCESSIVE NEGATIVITY
Error: Too many public critiqes of the governmental authorities, which turned out to be unproductive and overly negative in attitude. In recognizing the neglects and the cowardices of the authorities, it is necessary to also realize that it is also they who hold the reins and who have power over big decisions. Moral: it is necessary to establish and to create occasions for dialogue with the authorities.
(Véronique Le Clézio - MAURITIUS)

THANKS TO:
COLOMBIA - Guillermo Martinez Gallon, Liga Colombiana Contra El Cancer
JORDAN - Muna Hamzeh, Ministry of Health
MAURITIUS - Véronique Le Clézio, ViSa-Mauritius
USA - WI - Pam Guthman, Chippewa Valley Tobacco Free Coalition
USA/SENEGAL - Anna White, Essential Action

For more information about any of the above examples contact Essential Action and we will put you in touch with the appropriate individual.

Essential Action
Global Partnerships for Tobacco Control
P.O. Box 19405 ~ Washington, DC 20036
Tel: +1 202-387-8030 ~ Fax: +1 202-234-5176
Email: [email protected]
www.essentialaction.org/tobacco