Smokers in the South West are being urged to stop smoking in their homes, and take their fags outside to protect their children and the rest of their families from the poisonous toxins linked with the habit.
Smokefree South West, an anti-smoking group funded by 14 Primary Care Trusts in the region, has launched its Smokefree Homes campaign, created by full service localisation agency EMO.
The fully integrated campaign aims to change behaviour and raise awareness of the health risks to children.
New research shows that there has been an increase in people smoking in their homes or allowing others to do so, rising to 1 million people (22 per cent) in the South West (YouGov 20011) compared to 20 per cent in 2010.
The push, which incorporates TV, radio, online and partner engagement to leverage the campaign message, aims to halve this number by the year 2015.
Targeted at smoking parents with young children, the campaign focuses on the danger of smoking in the home and the poisonous chemicals left behind that linger on sofas, carpets and toys long after the smoke has gone, as well as the real risk this poses, particularly to small children.
Launching this week to coincide with National Child Safety Week and National Family Week it kicks off with a TV ad, created and produced by EMO. The ad delivers a hard hitting message that aims to resonate with the parent’s sense of responsibility and exposes the dangers from cigarette smoke. The direct call to action is “Protect your family, take the smoke outside”.
To increase awareness, radio and online activity will support the campaign, including a 30-second radio commercial aired across the South West region, combined with a programme of online activity on family sites. A dedicated microsite, smokeoutside.co.uk, offers further information and support, with in-depth information packs available by order directly through the site.
The push is supported by Fire and Rescue Services across the region, partners from local authority-based Family Information Services and National Family Week. In order to generate local word-of-mouth, smoking parents will be encouraged to spread the message within the community.
EMO managing director Nick Davies said: “Building on previous work with Smokefree South West, we’ve developed a fully integrated behaviour change campaign, utilising a combination of interruptive broadcast media, digital and community engagement through experiential and partnership programmes. The Smokefree Homes campaign educates and informs, offering a simple solution to a very real problem. It’s about driving change through the empowerment that knowledge brings.”
Kate Knight, head of social marketing and communications for Smokefree South West, said: “We are launching this campaign to highlight the risks associated with lingering toxins from cigarette smoke and to support and encourage families to protect their children and smoke outside the home. We needed an agency which understood the delicate message and could reach our target audience at a local community level. With its expertise in behavioural change and community engagement, as well as its ability to execute the campaign at a local level, EMO was the ideal partner for this campaign.”
