Anti Smoking Campaign Is A Failure. What Was The Setback?

Introduction of the Anti Smoking Campaign

The status quo about smoking that is rather captivating whilst worrisome simultaneously is the fact that it is estimated that more than 27,200 people are killed in Malaysia due to the use of tobacco products every year.

The percentage of consumerism for tobacco products in Malaysia in 2015 can be summarized as follows:

1. Adults (15 years old and above): 38.8% of the male population and 1.1% of the female population were consuming tobacco products.

2. Children (15 years and under): 3.06% of boys and 0.42% of girls used tobacco.

In response to this increasingly alarming figure, the government has planned to further strengthen the non-smoking campaign. Keep reading to find out more about the National Anti-Smoking Campaign.

In 2004, the Ministry of Health Malaysia (MOH) started an anti-smoking campaign called the ‘Tak Nak Merokok’ Campaign. The massive campaign was heavily influenced by the alarming rate of individuals getting involved with smoking activities.

The targeted audience for this campaign would be the non-smokers - especially teenagers & school students - as well as smokers - to encourage them to quit smoking. The main objectives of this campaign are to:

• Foster awareness in the illusion of the public about the dangers of smoking

• Encouraging smokers to quit smoking​

• Cultivate the compulsion among school students and adolescents consciousness to not be indulge into smoking

Aspects of the Anti-Smoking Campaign

The gist of this campaign are manifested & structured according to these 5 aspect;

• Do not start smoking - This aspect is specifically tailored for teenagers and school children. aimed at educating them about the dangers of cigarette consumption & cigarette smoke to the individual health and societal well-being.

• Know how to quit smoking - This aspect is targeted at smokers who have a desire to quit smoking.

• Deciding to quit smoking - This aspect is specifically for those who already have the desire to quit smoking. This group will be given guidance and encouragement to make the necessary preparations to quit smoking.

• Quit smoking - This aspect was founded to guide smokers on cigarette alternatives and other ways to quit smoking.

• Preserving smoking cessation status - This aspect is focused on smokers who have quit smoking to maintain and commit to non-smoking habits forever.

Furthermore, the Anti-Smoking campaign is a comprehensive government-led effort that impacted various societal groups and communities. Besides that, throughout the years, a number of activities, regulations and programs have been implemented to achieve the objectives of this Anti-Smoking campaign.

Amongst them are:

• Interaction via social media content and advertisement 

• Education at the community level by Non-Governmental Organisation (NGOs)

• Gazettes non-smoking areas

• Limits the age of buying cigarettes and smoking

• Displays health warning materials on cigarette boxes

• Prohibits any advertisements or promotions regarding cigarette & smoking

• Provides online & hotline services to quit smoking

• Coordinates with various institutions and premises to establish non-smoking areas

What are the Anti-Smoking Campaign setbacks?

Despite the numerous benefits of the anti-smoking campaign, it is still considered to some as a failed project - as it was reported that the campaign did not achieve some of its objectives. Ironically, these are the factors that might influenced its failure

I. Anxiety cannot withstand addiction

According to Synder and colleagues through their study in 2004, most smokers are often more worried about the effects after quitting cigarette smoking such as insomnia, restlessness and weight gain (due to increased appetite). This, in turn, poses a barrier to smoking cessation efforts.

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II. Want to choose your own actions.

Adolescence is the age at which they want full freedom to make their own choices. In addition, they also feel that smoking can relieve stress and increase concentration without truly understanding the severity of their action in the long run.

III. Misinterpretation of anti-smoking campaigns.

Smokers often see the message conveyed through this campaign as blaming and insulting them. Regulation such as gazetting non-smoking areas evoke feelings like they are committing heinous acts. Therefore, this becomes also one of the reasons this campaign does not attract their attention to quit smoking.

IV. Ineffective anti-smoking campaign message.

According to Gilbert (2005), studies have found that anti-smoking campaigns use ineffective messages especially when inappropriate pictures are displayed on posters and cigarette boxes. Such messages encourage them to continue smoking because they fail to offer a positive impact after quitting.

Is a No Smoking Campaign Effective?

After the launch of the No Smoking Campaign in 2004, several studies have been conducted to see the effectiveness of this campaign as a whole. For example, a study conducted by Maizurah et al. in 2006 found that smokers in Malaysia were still pro-tobacco compared to smokers from Canada and Thailand.

More than 75% of adult men agree smoking is normal and more than 20% of teens do not think about the dangers of smoking to the body. Even more than 35% of teenagers are not aware that cigarette smoke is also dangerous.

Failure regarding the No Smoking Campaign was also reported by the Utusan Malaysia newspaper via a special report 'Cigarette Smoking Campaign Has Failed'. The following is the data displayed in the report.

• The MOH study found that 45 to 50 children under the age of 18 become smokers every day.

• 3 out of 10 teenagers aged 12 to 18 are smokers and the number of female smokers are also increasing.
• The Smoking Cessation Clinic across the school demographic has astonishingly found the youngest smokers to be at the age of 10.

• Each year, the number of smokers increases by 30,000 people.

Looking at these alarming figures through some authentic studies, this anti-smoking campaign is seen as a failure. Nevertheless, the government has never given up on continuing to achieve the objectives of this campaign.

Among the measures implemented by the government are the expansion of non-smoking areas to all food premises and restaurants, enforcement of non-smoking laws and further regulating pictorial warnings on cigarette boxes.

Although the smoking cessation campaign was seen as a failure in achieving its objectives, such initiatives should be continued in order to educate the public about the dangers of smoking and indirectly encourage smokers to quit smoking. 

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