HEALTH GROUPS UP IN SMOKE OVER HEALTH CANADA CAMPAIGN
By Adnews Staff
Several Canadian health organizations have offered mixed reviews over Health Canada's newly announced advertising campaign aimed at reducing tobacco use. The advertising campaign created in part by Focus Strategies (formerly known as Palmer Jarvis DDB of Vancouver) and Asher & Partners of Los Angeles, launched yesterday and is scheduled to run for six weeks across Canada. The campaign includes four television advertisements, 2 French and 2 English. The French spots are called "Olivier" and "Poison" both created by Focus Strategies. The English ads are "Voice Box" also known as "Debi", created by Asher and an English version of "Poison". According to Tracy Schoales, senior marketing officer with Health Canada, the objective of the new campaign is to inform Canadians about the practices of the tobacco industry and the effect they have on Canadians. The National Tobacco Working Group of the Canadian Lung Association, The Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada, The Non-Smokers' Rights Association, Physicians for a Smoke-free Canada and The Quebec Coalition for Tobacco Control applauded Health Canada's focus on the tobacco industry but are concerned well focused attempts could fail due to a lack of funding. In response to this potential problem, Canadian health groups have demanded a stable fund of $120 million per year for tobacco control, the majority of which would fund mass media campaigns. According to health organizations, Health Canada's budget of $900,000 breaks down to about 3 cents per Canadian. Although it is not known whether this is new or reallocated funds, health groups are saying it is not enough.