Tobacco and Public Health - TCSC Indonesia

it impairs quality of life for years until the killing is accomplished. Similarly, policy
makers should care about reduced productivity and economic viability of the workforce,
if not the economics of tobacco-caused disease (Warner 2000).
Our efforts to communicate the relevant reasons for freedom from tobacco will be
countered by Big Tobacco, and we must resolve to never again let its false and misleading
statements go unanswered. We need a strong voice to ensure that policy makers
know the truth about the tobacco products of today and tomorrow. We are beginning to
see the twenty-first century version of ‘low tar’ cigarettes from the tobacco industry—
new products with even stronger allusions to reduced risk, with even less precedent
upon which to base policy and reaction. We must not forget the lessons of the twentiethcentury
products and product promotions that were intended, by Big Tobacco, to
address smokers’ concerns, even as they perpetuated the pipeline of death and disease
(Kessler 2000). The release of the tobacco industry documents has been a treasure
trove for tobacco-control advocates and policy makers alike. It is tantamount to cracking
the genetic code of the malaria-carrying mosquito, or the operational plans of an
illicit drug smuggling ring. This inside knowledge does not make our course of actions
as clear or as easy as we would like, but it provides a sobering view of what we are up
against and what kinds of challenges we face.
Getting the message out
PREFACE xi
I would like to propose a strategy for ensuring that public perceptions will begin to
reflect the truth about tobacco. The experience in California and elsewhere has shown
that effective public education strategies can mobilize action, and reduce smoking
(Balbach and Glantz 1998). However, to be effective we need to know who the public is,
how the public can use our expertise, and what the public should know.
Who?
The public is a diverse patchwork of cultures, each with special languages, values,
norms, and expectations. I propose that at least one-third of our strategic planning
and daily endeavors be devoted to understanding cultural diversity, protecting human
dignity, and helping each ‘public’ develop its own means to become free of tobacco
disease.
How?
We can take as a starting point the fact that the information and emotions held by consumers
with respect to tobacco products are derived heavily from explicit advertising,
and implicit purchasing of good will, by Big Tobacco, such as its ‘philanthropic’ efforts
to sponsor sporting events, entertainment, charities, and, in some countries, public
street signs and traffic signals. Following well-accepted principles of advertising, our
message must be simple, consistent, pervasive, repetitious, and delivered through many