"Take your butt outside" CMAJ 1997;156:972 © 1997 Canadian Medical Association A new antismoking campaign from Physicians for a Smoke-free Canada (PSC), in partnership with the Glaxo Wellcome Foundation, puts a new focus on the issue of secondhand smoke. Instead of condemning the smoking habit, the 2-year advertising campaign will attempt to educate smokers about the dangers of secondhand smoke, particularly its effect on children. The slogan? "If you can't quit, take your butt outside." "This campaign recognizes that people will continue to smoke," says Cynthia Callard, PSC's executive director. "It's a difficult issue for government to approach, but it is certainly appropriate for physicians to speak out." The campaign includes public-service announcements in print and on television, as well as transit advertisements in the Toronto area. Messages explain that in homes where parents smoke children are 46% more likely to contract bronchitis or pneumonia, 19% more likely to experience ear infections and 43% more likely to become asthmatic. Examples of the print messages include: "Safe smoking for the whole family. Step one: step outside" and "How to make smoking more enjoyable for you and your loved ones. Do it outside." A recent Statistics Canada survey found that only 20% of Canadians knew that secondhand smoke causes asthma and fewer than 1% knew it caused ear infections. "The message just wasn't reaching people," says Callard. The Ontario Campaign for Action on Tobacco is also trying to send a message about secondhand smoke. The Toronto-based group recently called attention to a California Environmental Protection Agency study, which concluded that exposure to secondhand smoke may lead to thousands of deaths in the US from sudden infant death syndrome and cardiovascular disease, and thousands of new cases of asthma; it also suggests that there may be a link between exposure to secondhand smoke and increased risk of breast and cervical cancer. The report is available at http://www.calepa.cahwnet.gov/oehha. Send a letter to the editor responding to this article Envoyez une lettre à la rédaction au sujet de cet article | CMAJ April 1, 1997 (vol 156, no 7) / JAMC le 1er avril 1997 (vol 156, no 7) |