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Health Canada targets aboriginal people in anti-smoking ads

Iqaluit residents asked to provide input

PATRICIA D’SOUZA

A market research firm contracted by Health Canada was in Iqaluit in the days before Christmas to test a new anti-smoking ad campaign aimed at aboriginal people across Canada.

If Health Canada goes ahead with the campaign, it will be the first federal anti-smoking initiative aimed at aboriginal people.

The federal department dedicated $43,000 toward the focus groups. It conducted two focus groups in Iqaluit, one in Montreal and one in Saskatchewan. Health Canada doesn’t know how much the completed ad campaign could cost, but a recent campaign focused on light and mild cigarettes cost about $9 million.

"We think it’s great," said Don Ellis, director of population health for Nunavut’s health department. Nunavut launched it’s own anti-smoking campaign last year, with posters of a smoker with a severely distorted face.

The federal initiative began with a meeting in Toronto this past September to announce the plans. Ellis was involved in the initial meeting.

"The main part of the work now is helping people who want to quit to quit," Ellis said. "Most people know that smoking is bad for you now."

He compared the campaign to the drunk-driving campaigns of the past few years that were successful in changing peoples’ perceptions. "What I think they’re trying to do is change peoples’ idea of what’s normal," he said.

In late December, a Mohawk representative of a Toronto market research firm presented drafts of television, radio and print ads to groups of aboriginal smokers and non-smokers, asking them for their reaction and input.

Iqaluit residents were contacted at random and asked a series of questions before being asked to participate in the study, which took two hours and paid $50.

The ad campaign, if implemented by Health Canada, would centre around the slogan "The good that you can do," and would show how smoking affects aboriginal people in the community, at home and at work.

The drafts include two 60-second TV ads depicting members of the community — a child, an elder, a hockey player and a man and woman — and a series of facts and statistics that show how smoking affects them and those around them.

Two shorter versions — both 30-seconds each — show how second-hand smoke affects both a coffee shop employee and an unborn child.

Three 60-second radio spots use aboriginal music or the voice of an aboriginal doctor to get the message across.

But perhaps the most positive and negative reactions in one session came in reaction to two of four print ads. The ads present the images of seven doctors with fictitious Inuit names. The copy reads: "It’s unanimous. Cigarette smoke is dangerous."

Many said that such an ad would definitely command attention because of the prominent images of respected community members. However, the group agreed that the ad would lose some impact because there aren’t any Inuit doctors in Nunavut to lend their authority to the campaign.

One participant said that the campaign would be more effective in Nunavut if it were more directly aimed at Inuit smokers.

He suggested a poster using a stylized zero answering the questions "How many cigarettes can you safely smoke?" and "How many Canadians need to die each year from cigarettes?" could be designed to look like the fur around a parka.

The market research firm will compile the information collected from the focus groups and present the information to Health Canada. The ad campaign may then be adjusted to reflect the opinions of the focus group participants.

Health Canada has not said when the ad campaign will begin being used.

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