USING COMMUNITY FESTIVALS TO STRENGHTHEN IMPLEMENTATION OF THE - PDF document

USING COMMUNITY FESTIVALS TO STRENGHTHEN IMPLEMENTATION OF THE BAN ON SURROGATE ADVERTISING DEVIKA CHADHA ROP 20 Track 4

BAN ON SURROGATE ADVERTISING DEVIKA CHADHA Background • India is a country deeply influenced by many religions and cultures • Cultural events are a great platform to promote any product given the mass following • No of Marquees in Mumbai for the Ganesh festival (2011): 12400 • Salaam Bombay Foundation started tracking violations in 2008 Objective • To advocate for a ban of surrogate advertising of tobacco products during the festival Surrogate advertising in marquees which attract lot of advertisements Disclosure of Interest: ROP 20 Track None Declared

BAN ON SURROGATE ADVERTISING DEVIKA CHADHA STRATEGY • Educating marquee committees on the law 3 months prior • Monitoring to see if the marquee has any violation Beginning of festival • Reporting violations to the authorities. • Following up to see if the violating ads During have been removed by the authorities. festival In July 2011 civic authorities issued an official circular in all marquees and a suspension of license in case of violations No. of pandals where tobacco advertizing was eliminated Disclosure of Interest: ROP 20 Track None Declared

BAN ON SURROGATE ADVERTISING DEVIKA CHADHA Each e Individual Marquee has turned down advertisemen ts worth approx. USD 50,000- 75,000 to implement the law. Conclusion • Taking organizers of public events, stakeholders and policy makers into confidence can lead to effective implementation of the Tobacco Control Law , here the ban on all tobacco direct and indirect advertising • Advocacy during festivals, provides another opportunity to reach large segments of the population with key tobacco control messages Disclosure of Interest: ROP 20 Track None Declared