Engaging new voices and key opinion leaders in support of smoke-free policies in China

Background and challenges to implementation One million people die a tobacco-related death every year in China, and this number will continue to grow if China does not act fast to rectify the problem. Rates of exposure to second-hand smoke are also extraordinarily high. But the winds of change are blowing. Three major cities in China - its capital Beijing, Shenzhen and Shanghai have since passed 100% smoke-free laws which are being implemented very successfully. The adoption of these comprehensive smoke-free laws was a genuine breakthrough for tobacco control in China. The laws set a new benchmark for smoke-free laws in other cities, and has generated a real sense of momentum for the adoption of a national smoke-free law. Intervention or response Given the widespread use and influence of social media in China, one of the key strategies of the #RUFREE campaign is to engage with celebrities and key opinion leaders to give support to the smoke-free movement in China. Results and lessons learnt Results from two recent campaigns launched in 2017 - the WHO Smoke-Free Next Generation campaign (involving three of China's biggest young stars and celebrity photographer) and the Open Letter by Mothers campaign by Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids involving high profile Chinese celebrities and key opinion leaders were hugely successful and generated a tremendous amount of social media buzz. The Smoke-Free Next Generation campaign went viral (the campaign hashtag set a new record by going from zero to over 130 million reads within a matter of days). The open letter campaign from one celebrity mother's social media post reached over 100,000 reads alone. Conclusions and key recommendations Engaging fresh and new voices with massive social media following has proven to be successful in helping raise the public awareness and support for smoke-free policies in China