Local Youth Advocates Give International Counterparts A Taste Of Tobacco Free Social Movement Singapore Style

Singapore, 22 March 2012: Hailing from different countries all over the world, a dozen youths experience the 'glam' lifestyle while traipsing around a cultural enclave in tropical Singapore in order to raise awareness of the ills of shisha smoking.

2. Actually, what they are exploring is Singapore's iconic Kampong 'Glam', where Singapore's first shisha awareness campaign by the Health Promotion Board (HPB) is being launched as one of the highlights of its 'Live It Up Without Lighting Up' (LIUWLU) Global Movement.

3. A highlight of the campaign is a nine-minute 'Idiot's Guide to Shisha’ video. Putting a clever spin on the popular 'Idiot's Guidebooks', the video appears at first glance to give viewers a step-bystep guide on how to assemble a shisha pipe. As the 'guru' in the video proceeds to describe each element of the hookah, however, he actually explains how each part causes harm to one's health, ultimately turning viewers away from smoking shisha.

4. Research shows that a typical hour-long shisha smoking session is equivalent to inhaling smoke from 100 or more cigarettes. Water pipe smoking also delivers the addictive drug nicotine, which is at least as toxic as cigarette smoke. Yet, shisha smoking is perceived as a 'safer' alternative to cigarette smoking because of many myths surrounding the product and the way it is used.

5. In addition to screening the video on YouTube and sending geo-targeted MMS to SingTel subscribers in the vicinity to dissuade them from smoking shisha, the campaign launch also involves on-ground activation as 12 local and international youth advocates distribute educational material and share information about the harmful effects of shisha smoking. (Please refer to Annex A for more details)

6. Organised by HPB in conjunction with the 15th World Conference on Tobacco or Health (WCTOH), the LIUWLU Global Movement is a ground-up initiative that empowers youths to take a stand against tobacco use while encouraging them to decide how they want to benefit from a smoke-free lifestyle; for instance, by channelling their healthy energy to groom a talent or realise a dream. (Please refer to Annex B for more details)

7. To illustrate the cool options that go with a healthy lifestyle, 65 youth advocates from Asia to the Americas joined more than 300 local youth advocates at *SCAPE Warehouse in a dance party with a song-and-dance highlight specially composed by local indie musician Patrick Chng, and choreographed by Zaini Tahir.

8. Students from local schools and dance institutions also pitted their hip hop moves before an esteemed panel of judges, which included Hollywood choreographer Dejan Tubic, who has worked with artistes Usher and Toni Braxton.

9. The LIUWLU Global Movement does not end with the dance at *SCAPE. Armed with LIUWLU tool kits provided by HPB, foreign youth advocates will be able to execute their own LIUWLU advocacy projects at home.

10. In addition, HPB will check in on these local and international advocates in December 2012 so as to provide further guidance in their advocacy efforts. They will also be invited to share their LIUWLU movements and other initiatives on the HPB youth lifestyle portal 'Breathe.sg' and the 'Global Youth Action on Tobacco' (GYAT) Facebook page.

11. One young advocate who intends to start her own tobacco control social movement is 24- year-old Surabhi Shastri from India, who feels a similar dance competition may just work at home, given India's strong Bollywood culture.

12. Together with the rest of her fellow advocates, Surabhi also attended a two-day series of workshops and interactive discussions revolving around the theme 'Towards a Tobacco-free World: Youth Can Make a Difference'. (Please refer to Annex C for more details)

13. On 24 March, all the youth advocates will present at a WCTOH symposium, an action plan based on what they have learnt in the workshops, on the activation ground and by networking with one another.

14. “In order to succeed in our fight against tobacco use, it is important to prevent young smokers from lighting up. A top-down clamp on underage smokers must be complemented by other youth-centric approaches including peer education, inspirational messages and new media platforms such as HPB's 'Idiot's Guide to Shisha’ video on YouTube. By exposing our youth tobacco control advocates to global best practices and perspectives, and inspiring them to influence their peers against tobacco use, we hope to counter some of the factors that lead youths to experiment with tobacco, such as peer pressure and misconceptions that smoking is fashionable,” said Mr Ang Hak Seng, Chief Executive Officer, HPB.

15. HPB has long recognised the importance of youth advocacy in tobacco control, with peer-led education forming a key strategic thrust in its tobacco control strategies.

16. In September 2005, HPB set up the Youth Advolution for Health (YAH) Programme, Singapore‟s first youth-led health advocacy programme aimed at empowering youths to advocate a healthy lifestyle and come up with revolutionary methods of promoting healthy lifestyles among their peers.

17. Since then, the local youth advocacy scene has flourished, with many youths tapping on YAH grants to fund their advocacy projects. To date, more than 40 grants have been awarded for anti-tobacco projects, with an estimated outreach of more than 150,000 youths. (Please refer to Annex D for more details)

18. Over the years, YAH advocates have developed novel advocacy programmes to spread awareness not just among their peers, but also to relevant stakeholders such as tobacco retailers to remind them not to sell tobacco products to underage youths. Youth advocacy has also been effective in 'de-normalising' and 'de-glamourising' the perception that smoking is an acceptable norm. (Please refer to Annex E for more details)

19. Through these sustained efforts, HPB hopes to continue to share and leverage on best practices in youth tobacco control globally to further lower local youth smoking prevalence. Singapore has one of the lowest prevalence of youth smoking in the world. According to results from the Student Health Survey 2009, the prevalence of students aged 13 to 16 who have smoked at least once in the last 30 days fell from nine per cent in 2006 to six per cent in 2009.

20. This decline is attributable to HPB's comprehensive multi-pronged tobacco control efforts that encompass taxation, legislation, partnerships and provision of smoking cessation services. Educational and prevention programmes, with a focus on peer-led initiatives, will continue to form a key strategic thrust in reaching out to youths.

ANNEX A: Background on Shisha in Singapore
ANNEX B: 'Live It Up Without Lighting Up' Global Movement
ANNEX C: WCTOH Youth Pre-Conference
ANNEX D: Youth Advolution for Health (YAH) Programme
ANNEX E: Profiles of Youth Advolution for Health (YAH) Advocates

Photographs and Video Footage Video footage of the Youth Pre-conference is available for download at the following link,

https://rcpt.yousendit.com/1427669324/a1f907f6002dc1f233b3355f74cf45fc

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High resolution photographs and video footage of the 'Live It Up Without Lighting Up' Global Movement dance competition are available for download at the following link until 5 April 2012,

http://wtrns.fr/RfNFga5w1vCFiLZ

Issued by Health Promotion Board

Media Contact:
WCTOH Media Centre
Venue: Room No 328, Level 3, Suntec City Convention Centre
DID: +65 6821 0210 / +65 6821 0212
Email: media@wctoh2012.org

Media Release

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