Vital Strategies launches interactive campaign this World No Tobacco Day

An innovative anti-smoking digital billboard campaign has been launched by Vital Strategies at the DLF Cyber Hub, Gurgaon on World No Tobacco Day. For the next four weeks, the billboard will detect a smoker lighting a cigarette or bidi in front of it and responds by launching a short video. The video shows the real-time effects of tobacco smoke on the heart and lungs of the smoker and people nearby, who are exposed to secondhand smoke. The campaign is aligned with the theme for this year’s World No Tobacco Day, which is the impact of tobacco on cardiovascular health.

The campaign’s central theme is #UndoTheDamage and the billboard is placed strategically at a location commonly frequented by smokers visiting Cyber Hub. When a smoker lights their cigarette in front of the digital billboard, it displays the message “This is what you are doing to your heart right now”. A video is triggered that shows the effects of smoking on the heart and is accompanied by wheezing sounds. At the end of the video, the screen shows the national quit line number 1800-11-2356, for smokers who want assistance to quit.

Dr Nandita Murukutla, Vice President, Global Policy and Research, Vital Strategies, commented “Heart disease and stroke are India’s biggest killers, and tobacco use is a leading risk factor for those conditions. We are excited to launch India’s first interactive digital billboard campaign to deliver that importance message and promote smoking cessation. This innovative medium graphically shows smokers the real-time harm they’re experiencing. We believe this will encourage smokers to quit and will help in protecting the heart health of non-smokers exposed to secondhand smoke, especially children.”