The 13th World Conference on Tobacco OR Health

An intensive three-month media advocacy campaign played a crucial role in securing government funding for the first tobacco control program in Kazakstan. The National Coalition “For smoke free Kazakstan” successfully lobbied Almaty City Council to make tobacco control a priority and to establish the “Smokefree Almaty” program with a budget of US$315,000 for 2006 and 2007.

The core component of this highly cost-effective campaign was a series of surprise check-ups around the city to monitor compliance with the national tobacco law on smoking in public places. These ‘inspections' were conducted by multi-disciplinary teams comprised of journalists, local Parliamentarians, police, health professionals and coalition advocates.

Over a period of six days, 107 venues were inspected for compliance with the law under secured significant media coverage. These included shops, markets, restaurants, government and public buildings, police offices, etc. In addition to following the inspection teams and reporting on the results, TV and radio channels conducted interviews on the need for smoke-free environments and broadcast information on other many aspects of smoking. The print and internet media continued to cover tobacco control issues for almost a month. Media campaign created a strong level of public awareness of tobacco smoking being one of the city's biggest problems and persuaded for the “Smokefree Almaty” special program implementation. Nowadays, recognizing the media as a key partner, the coalition keeps journalists regularly updated and motivated by means of public awards, a monthly tobacco control bulletin, press conferences and by establishing a media tobacco control resource center.