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American Morning
Canada Has Toughest Anti-Smoking Campaign in World
Aired January 09, 2002 - 07:50 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: I'm sure you've seen the provocative anti-smoking ads before, but do they help snuff out cigarette smoking? Canada has the toughest anti-smoking campaign in the world. For a year now graphic, colorful images like this one cover half of the front and back of all cigarette packages there in Canada. The government there wants to know if the pictures are working, so they've commissioned a study that's being released today, and it shows that 58 percent of the smokers interviewed said the pictures made them think more about the effects of smoking.
Here to talk about the Canadian campaign and the new study, Rob Cunningham of the Canadian Cancer Society. Thanks for being with us this morning.
ROB CUNNINGHAM, CANADIAN CANCER SOCIETY: Thank you.
COOPER: Fifty-eight percent of the people said they think more about the effects of smoking; that doesn't mean they've stopped smoking.
CUNNINGHAM: Well we know from the research and the study that's being released today, 44 percent have said that these new warnings have increased their motivation to quit and of those who attempted to quit, up to this particular point in 2001, when the study was in the field, 38 percent attributed the warning as being a factor, motivating their quit attempt. We know that smokers find these warnings unattractive by a margin of 30 to one making the packets less attractive. We also know that smokers say that these warnings are increasing their concern about the health effects of smoking.
COOPER: Has there been any drop in cigarette sales?
CUNNINGHAM: We don't have full data for the year 2001, but there are some encouraging signs and the one study among youth, that was released in the large province of Ontario, did find a significant decline in 2001 compared to the previous study in 1999. But there would be a number of factors contributing to that.
COOPER: Such as?
CUNNINGHAM: Such as higher tobacco taxes; such as a reduction in tobacco advertising and promotion; that did occur in 2001. I have an example of one of the package warnings with me that talks about cigarettes causing mouth diseases. This is one that is particularly dissuasive and store clerks report that often when smokers receive this pack, they also have a different package that has a different warning. And there are 16 different exterior warnings like this on Canadian packages, different pictures covering the top. Fifty percent of the front and back of the package, English and French, because Canada's a bilingual country.
COOPER: I also read - I also read in your study that a lot of the smokers actually build the cardboard packages to place around the cigarette packages.
CUNNINGHAM: There are some smokers, about 20 percent that on one or more occasion have used a sleeve to cover the warning or put their cigarettes into a cigarette tin to avoid that. Four percent in the study reported that they're doing that all of the time.
COOPER: Do you judge this campaign a success?
CUNNINGHAM: We definitely do. From these very initial stages, these warnings are having an impact. They're making smokers think. They're affecting their behavior and we've already seen how the Canadian experience is being translated internationally. In Brazil ...
COOPER: How difficult was it getting the manufacturers to agree to put these pretty horrific pictures on cigarette packages?
CUNNINGHAM: The manufacturers were very strongly opposed to these regulations. They were, of course, very much supported by health organizations. They were very strongly supported by the government and the Minister of Health Allen Rock (ph). Manufacturers certainly did not want this type of message to appear on packages and not only did they fight it in Canada, but they want to prevent the Canadian model for being adopted internationally and other countries are considering it.
COOPER: All right, Mr. Cunningham, thanks very much for joining us this morning.
CUNNINGHAM: Thank you.
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