Big Tobacco Gets Smoked Out at the Irish Cancer Society’s X-HALE Film Festival
Young people fight back as research shows most teen smokers targeted by the Tobacco Industry will still be trying to quit in five years’ time
Over 38 youth groups from around the country today attended the Irish Cancer Society’s X-HALE Film Festival 2013. The event, which took place at the Lighthouse Cinema in Smithfield, saw almost 220 young people gather to showcase their film projects on the big screen. With each short film focused on the issue of smoking, the young people sent a clear message to the tobacco industry in Ireland using the medium of film.
The Irish Cancer Society event follows the Government’s announcement that Ireland will become one of the first countries in the world to ban branding from cigarette packaging. With young people the primary target for industry marketing and research showing that they respond more effectively to brand imagery than older age groups*, generic packaging in Ireland will play an important role in the fight against youth smoking here. In Ireland, young people start smoking at a younger age (16.4 years) than any of their European counterparts** while those who don’t start smoking before the age of 21 are unlikely to take it up later adulthood.***
The young people attending the X-HALE Film Festival however were already fighting back with 38 films all highlighting the harmful effects of smoking. Over the last eight weeks, the films were available to view online (www.cancer.ie/xhale) and to date have received in excess of 50,000 views. Respiratory problems, reduced physical fitness, displeasing aesthetical effects and tobacco marketing techniques were all highlighted as they looked to encourage other young people to kick the habit or not to start smoking at all.
The X-HALE Film Festival is part of the Irish Cancer Society’s X-HALE Youth Awards, an initiative which aims to empower young people to create awareness around the issue of smoking in their own communities. Today’s national event follows months of hard work by the youth groups in devising and producing their own films.
John McCormack, CEO of the Irish Cancer Society, said: “Children and adolescents who smoke cigarettes are more susceptible to ill-health. We know that the tobacco industry is targeting young people to replace the smokers that have died or quit. As a result, it is imperative that we continue to encourage young people to educate themselves and each other around these killer products. Most teen smokers who want to quit are still trying five years later. We need to reach these young people before it’s too late.”
Kevin O’Hagan, Health Promotion Manager at the Irish Cancer Society, said: “The X-HALE Film Festival is an empowering opportunity for young people to have their say on the issue of smoking and it’s clear that these youth groups aren’t fooled by Big Tobacco. They have sent a rallying call to their peers to pay attention to the harmful effects of smoking and to the tricks of the industry. X-HALE ultimately aims to prevent young people from starting to smoke and to remain smoke free. We congratulate all those who took part in the Festival and are delighted to see how passionate they are about X-HALE.”
This is the third year of the X-HALE Youth Awards which began in December 2010 when the Society invited applications from youth groups from all over Ireland for funding under the scheme. Since its inception, the Society has invested €100,000 in support for youth groups across the country,
The film projects from today’s national event can be viewed online, visit: www.cancer.ie/xhale-2012-vote.The X-HALE Film Festival is an Irish Cancer Society project in partnership with the National Youth Council of Ireland (NYCI).
