Dear Neil, [*see notes below]
To answer the question what is the effect of death due to smoking for the people around them. In 2010 Choice TV from the UK made a film entitled: Responsible corporations? : the social cost of the cigarette business / TV Choice Productions (https://www.nlb.gov.sg/biblio/202963119 ). This film depicts how most Indonesians don't believe that smoking is bad for their health and the industry shamelessly cashes in on their ignorance. This film describes how a woman who is exposed to cigarette smoke suffers from lung cancer and eventually dies. But the people around her thought that it was not caused by smoking.
In daily conversation in Indonesia, smokers often give examples that they see grandparents who are over 70 years old and still smoke. They make it as a model that people who smoke can also live longer.
Jum’atil Fajar
HIFA Profile: Jum’atil Fajar is Medical Care Manager at RSUD dr. H. Soemarno Sosroatmodjo Kuala Kapuas, Indonesia. Professional interests: Distributing electronic health information among doctors. jumatil AT gmail.com
[*Notes from HIFA moderator (NPW):
1. Thank you Jum'atil. The observation that 'most Indonesians don't believe that smoking is bad for their health' is quite shocking and I would be very interested to see the film. However, I have just spent 30 minutes online looking for it, including the Action on Smoking and Health website, and the only version I can find is not freely available. Do you have a direct link?
2. This raises a question about the availability of educational video for the general public. In my view any video that has educational value, such as the one you describe, should be freely available to all. The tobacco control community should ensure this wherever possible.
3. A third comment is whether and how the tobacco control industry guides people through online content to inform them about the health (and environmental) risks of tobacco. If a member of the public does a Google search on health risks of tobacco they will get 72 million results. How to guide people to information that is both reliable and impactful?
4. What are the most impactful videos that have been made on this subject? For the public? For health workers? For policymakers? Have they been adequately publicised and disseminated?]
