A Campaign against advertising, promotion and sponsorship of tobacco products in Bulgaria
By Smoke Free Life Coalition - Bulgaria
Using crafty advertising, promotion and sponsorship tricks, tobacco industry aims to reach smokers and recruit new ones. Its shiny ads can be seen on billboards across Bulgaria. Its attractive promotions appeal to audiences at public events and in sales spaces. Its paid promoters smoke in reality shows and music videos on television. The purpose of this campaign is to put an end to this and clear tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship from the public and media spaces of Bulgaria.
In 2005 Bulgaria ratified the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control of the World Health Organization which recommends the introduction of a comprehensive ban on advertising, promotion and sponsorship of tobacco products as an effective measure for reducing the number of smokers. Despite the convention’s recommendations omnipresence ads featuring smiling faces, positive and inspiring messages still impose the false sense that cigarettes and happiness go hand in hand, and legitimate smoking as a socially acceptable practice. Bulgaria is among the few countries in Europe who have not banned tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship (TAPS) comprehensively.
Advertising and promotion of tobacco products limits the freedom of choice by making it harder for smokers to quit, causing ex-smokers to revert to the harmful habit and tempting new people to join the ranks of smokers, research shows. Children and teenagers are particularly vulnerable, and are the primary target of tobacco industry salesmen.
Thus provocative video campaign is a response to this. It depicts a world in which children’s eyes need to be shut in order to prevent them from seeing the smoking ads. Surreal, dark, scary, images of blindfolded children, remind us that cigarettes advertising do sell them cigarettes and poses the question:
SHOULD WE FORBID THEM TO SEE IT OR FORBID IT TO EXIST?
English language resources: Creative video; Creative images; ASH; CTFK; The International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases
The Smoke Free Life Coalition is a member of European Network for Smoking And Tobacco Prevention (ENSP) and Smoke–Free Partnership and collaborates with the World Health Organization. The organization comprises of over 30 NGOs, medical professionals’ and patients’ associations, think tanks, municipalities and media who unite their forces to work together with people, institutions and law for a life a life without smoking.
We thank The Smarts for the for the conceptual idea, creativity and limitless positivity.
The campaign was realized by the financing support of The International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease.
This campaign was realized with help from BlueLink.net.
This document has been produced with the help of a grant from Vital Strategies, managed by the International Union against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union) and funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies. The contents of this document are the sole responsibility of the authors and can under no circumstances be regarded as reflecting the positions of Vital Strategies and The Union or the donors.
