Under my skin
- Every 35 minutes, a smoker dies of a heart attack when a blood clot blocks a coronary artery.
- Smoking kills over 30,000 people from circulatory and heart disease in the UK each year.
- This year the BHF distributed over 170,000 publications helping people to quit.
Under my skin
Smoking is the single biggest cause of coronary heart disease. A quarter of the 115,000 people who are killed each year in the UK by cigarettes will die from heart disease. In 2005 the British Heart Foundation launched an innovative campaign in the long-running battle to persuade smokers to quit and stay smoke-free.
Action
Following the success of the ‘fatty cigarette’ campaign in 2004, the BHF, with £4 million of funding from the Department of Health, produced a new campaign to build on its achievements and aimed to convince thousands more to quit and save themselves from disability and premature death.
The 2005 campaign targeted smokers throughout their daily routine, via newspapers at home, posters on the way to and from work, the internet at lunchtime, TV ads in the evenings and even beer mats in pubs. Using Frank Sinatra’s classic ‘I’ve got you under my skin’ as the background to images of a sinister ripple travelling along the arm, neck and shoulders towards the hearts of smokers, the powerful ads combined song and images to reinforce the message that every cigarette you smoke clogs arteries which can lead to blood clots and death.
As in 2004, the ‘Under My Skin’ campaign was aimed particularly at multi-quitters – those who have tried several times to give up, but have failed. To help these people the BHF launched a raft of new support systems, including a highly interactive website with a MultiMap facility to help find local stop smoking services, a helpline, and free text message and e-mail support programmes.
Impact
The results of the campaign were phenomenal. Thousands took on board the central message that a blood clot kills a smoker every 35 minutes. The new website and helpline received over 225,000 responses – 70% higher than during the previous campaign. There was an increase in the number of people who associated smoking with blood clots – 45% compared to 30% before the campaign. Most importantly of all, 60% more smokers quit after the ‘Fatty Cigarette’ campaign and therefore potentially avoided premature death.
Next steps
The BHF will continue to play a leading role in the war against smoking. Despite the Department of Health’s investment of £15 million in our anti-smoking activity since the beginning of 2004, the challenge remains enormous and we will continue our campaign to make the UK smoke-free.