New campaign aims to ‘Get Some Answers’ on illegal tobacco

July 15, 2010 Tags: , , ,
in Illicit Tobacco, Whats Happening |

How do our kids afford cigarettes? Get some answers -- click hereNorth West mums who are worried about the impact illegal tobacco is having on their communities have inspired a new crack down which hopes to ‘Get Some Answers’ about how it ends up in the hands of children and young people in their areas.

Over 8,000 teenagers aged 14 to 17 in the North West admitted to regularly buying fake cigarettes last year, according to a survey by Trading Standards in the North West.*

A recent You Gov survey** highlighted that 74 per cent of people support a crack down on tobacco smuggling. Around 75 per cent of people – many of them mums – who took part in a 2009 NEMS survey were more likely to report someone for selling tobacco if they thought their own children may be at risk from being targeted. (more…)

North West short film exposing tobacco industry practices wins cinema commercial of the year award

May 25, 2010 Tags: , ,
in Smoke & Mirrors, Whats Happening |

An innovative short film made in the North West highlighting the negative practices of the tobacco industry, Tobacco Related Deaths (TRD), has won an award for cinema commercial of the year at the coveted Roses Advertising Awards 2010 and is the first Roses Award for Manchester-based design agency Vivid.

TRD, which was commissioned by North West wellbeing and health campaign group Our Life and Smokefree North West, was one of three films designed to target 14-18 year olds – the audience that the tobacco industry traditionally recruits as new smokers to replace customers that have quit or died through their habit.

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Smoke & Mirrors nominated for advertising award

March 23, 2010 Tags: , , ,
in Smoke & Mirrors, Whats Happening |

A cinema advertisement created for Smokefree North West’s youth advocacy campaign, Smoke & Mirrors, has been nominated for a coveted Roses Award.

The Roses are creative advertising awards designed to recognise, reward and promote innovation and creativity in the UK advertising industry outside London, with results announced and trophies awarded on Thursday 6 May 2010.

The film, Tobacco Related Deaths, stars former Hollyoaks actors Matt Littler and Darren Jefferies as detectives alongside Hollyoaks star, Carley Stenson (Steph) and former Atomic Kitten singer, Natasha Hamilton.

It is the product of a film competition that challenged the region’s young people to expose the negative practices of the tobacco industry. Along with two other films, Don’t Fall For It and The Machine, it was also released online through YouTube and elsewhere as part of a viral campaign.

Young people hit back at tobacco industry negative practices with first ever film campaign

December 30, 2009 Tags:
in Events, Whats Happening |

Young people have hit back with a new film campaign to highlight the negative practices of the tobacco industry at a red carpet launch event at The Cornerhouse Cinema in Manchester this evening.

Mike Cockayne (film producer director) Darren Jeffries, Mo Iqbal (winner), Michael Burlison (winner), & Matt Littler arriving at the Premiere

Mike Cockayne (film producer director) Darren Jeffries, Mo Iqbal (winner), Michael Burlison (winner), & Matt Littler arriving at the premiere

Three students from the North West are the first in the UK to tackle these issues using short films they have created with the help of Hollyoaks’ creator Phil Redmond and former Hollyoaks actors.

Students, Mo Iqbal, 18, Michael Burlison, 18  and Joe Washington, 15 were the star guests at the premiere of their own films, as winners of the Smokefree North West Smoke & Mirrors short film competition. Hundreds of young people from across the region took part in the campaign to help protect future generations from exposure to tobacco.

The three winning films, ‘TRD’ (Tobacco Related Deaths), ‘The Machine’ and ‘Don’t Fall For It,’ were screened for the very first time at The Cornerhouse Cinema in Manchester and have been produced as 90 second viral films.
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Young people at celebrity-packed weekend vote in favour of tobacco Bill Proposals ahead of today’s vote in Parliament

December 3, 2009 Tags: ,
in Whats Happening |

Young people from across the North West today voted to put cigarettes out of sight in shops and remove cigarette vending machines in support of proposals being voted on today in the House of Commons.

Around 100 young people aged 14 to18 came together at a celebrity-packed youth campaign weekend – Smoke & Mirrors – to expose the negative practices of the tobacco industry.

Eighty per cent of the young people voted in agreement that cigarettes should not be openly displayed in shops and almost 90% voted that cigarettes should not be available from vending machines.

These issues will form a key part of today’s vote in the House of Commons on the tobacco elements of the Health Bill, which could see an end to cigarette vending machines and the display of tobacco in shops.

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