The theme for World No Tobacco Day 2020 (#WNTD2020) as announced by the World Health Organization (WHO) is “protecting youth from industry manipulation and preventing them from tobacco and nicotine use.”
According to the WHO, the tobacco industry has, for decades, “deliberately employed strategic, aggressive and well-resourced tactics to attract youth to tobacco and nicotine products. Internal industry documents reveal in-depth research and calculated approaches designed to attract a new generation of tobacco users, from product design to marketing campaigns aimed at replacing the millions of people who die each year from tobacco-attributable diseases with new consumers – youth.”
#WNTD2020 aims to provide a “counter-marketing campaign and empower young people to engage in the fight against” the tobacco industry in response to its “systematic, aggressive and sustained tactics to attract a new generation of tobacco users.”
According to the WHO, the global campaign has the following objectives:
- Debunk myths and expose manipulation tactics employed by the tobacco and related industries, particularly marketing tactics targeted at youth, including through the introduction of new and novel products, flavors and other attractive features;
- Equip young people with knowledge about the tobacco and related industries’ intentions and tactics to hook current and future generations on tobacco and nicotine products; and
- Empower influencers (in pop culture, on social media, in the home, or in the classroom) to protect and defend youth and catalyze change by engaging them in the fight against Big Tobacco.
Based on the Basic Education Statistics (February 2020), the school-aged learners all over the country for the incoming school year is projected at around 28 million. These 28 million learners are among the children and adolescents who— according to the WHO—are being increasingly preyed on by tobacco and related industries through advertising tactics and targeting them directly with a new portfolio of products that threaten their health, and recruited as their new tobacco and nicotine users to reward investors with as much profit as possible and keep its business alive
This puts DepEd in a strategic position to be at the forefront of the campaign; a position that is further supported by DepEd Order No. 48, s, 2016, titled Policy and Guidelines on Comprehensive Tobacco Control, which mandates DepEd to conduct education and information activities to raise awareness and warn against the tactics of the tobacco industry—tactics to circumvent tobacco control measures, glamorize smoking, and downplay or deny the addictive, harmful nature of tobacco products—through creative endeavors involving the participation of learners.
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DepEd’s Campaign Slogan: BIBO
In line with the celebration of #WNTD2020 and the National No Smoking Month, DepEd launches “BIBO: Batang Informed tungkol sa BisyO, Batang Iwas BisyO,” a month-long online campaign that reframes the global #WNTD2020 theme in a manner that is fun, positive, youthful, Filipino, learner-focused, and better suited in the context of DepEd, where the youth primarily are learners who—if equipped with the right knowledge and skills and appropriately guided by adults— are capable of making choices that are beneficial to them; e.g., pursuing a healthy, tobacco-free lifestyle.
The BIBO character is a bata, a K-12 learner who is in his normal house clothing but wears a cape—to signify his playful nature as a child who pretends to be a superhero, a portrayal that symbolizes his being “empowered” to make informed choices for himself. However, instead of wearing a mask to cover his eyes, as it is typical of superhero costumes, he wears a face mask with the universal No Smoking on it, to put context in the overall national situation he is in—the ongoing global and national efforts to protect people’s health from the threat of COVID-191.
The BIBO character is doing the BIBO gesture, with one hand on his head indicating that he is “thinking” or informed tungkol sa bisyo, and another hand signaling “stop!” to communicate that he is iwas bisyo. Becoming bibo is not just about knowing but is also about acing on what you know.
Campaign Framework
1 The need to amplify the key messages of #WNTD2020 can be no timelier than now as the tobacco industry continues its manipulation tactics despite the repercussions of the COVID-19 crisis. According to the WHO, the tobacco industry is creating controversy and confusion about the risk of nicotine and tobacco product use and COVID-19, and tobacco lobbyists have tried to manipulate COVID-19 policymaking to get tobacco shops listed as essential and offer free delivery of tobacco products to people in quarantine. This is even though smokers likely face more severe symptoms if infected, leading to hospitalizations and premature deaths. Even before the unprecedented global crisis that the world is facing now, the global tobacco epidemic has always been a public health concern especially for developing countries like the Philippines.
Target Audiences and Key Messages
Learners
By being equipped with the knowledge about the harms of tobacco use and the tactics of the tobacco industry, and with the necessary skills to make informed choices, you can choose to pursue a healthy lifestyle and resist tobacco use.
Call to action: Maging BIBO.
Maintain a healthy and tobacco-free lifestyle, and resist the manipulation tactics of the tobacco industry.
DepEd officials and personnel
Whatever platform or role you have, you are in a very strategic position to protect the youth from the manipulation tactics of the tobacco industry by taking a stand against the industry and by influencing young people to pursue a healthy lifestyle and to reject tobacco use.
Call to action: Tulungan ang mga batang maging BIBO. Speak up for tobacco control, encourage our stakeholders to join us in protecting the youth from the tobacco industry, and engage our learners in pursuing a healthy, tobacco-free lifestyle.
Parents
You have the power to influence your children through your own lifestyle choices and what you communicate with them. You are key to ensuring that what they are taught in school about health and tobacco use are applied by your children, especially now that they are spending all their time at home. We are with you in ensuring the safety and health of your children, whether it is from the threat of COVID-19 or the manipulation tactics of the tobacco industry.
Call to action: Patuloy na samahan ang DepEd sa pagtulong sa mga batang maging at manatiling BIBO.
Join DepEd in protecting our children from the tobacco industry, and in engaging them in pursuing a healthy, tobacco-free lifestyle.
Other stakeholders
The ongoing crisis has increased people’s consciousness about the need to protect their health. Even before this crisis, tobacco has always been a real, constant threat to public health and to our young people. Tobacco is an antithesis to our work. If you support us in ensuring that we Sulong EduKalidad, you have every reason to support us in our tobacco control initiatives.
Call to action: Samahan din ang DepEd sa pagtulong sa mga batang maging at manatiling BIBO.
Join DepEd in speaking up for tobacco control, in protecting the youth from the harms of tobacco use and of the tobacco industry, and in engaging our learners in pursuing a healthy, tobacco-free lifestyle.
Overview of Activities
The Bureau of Learner Support Services-School Health Division (BLSS-SHD) and the Public Affairs Service (PAS), in coordination with other concerned units, and in consultation with DepEd stakeholders—especially the youth—and external partners, shall lead the celebration through the following activities:
| May 18-27 | Daily Poll (Via Google Form and posters on Facebook): Survey on the insights of learners on tobacco use and their ideas for the campaign |
| May 29 | Announcement of the launch of the online campaign by sharing the BIBO Facebook Frame and info about Sunday’s concert where SLMB will launch the BIBO campaign |
| May 30 | DepEd’s Facebook poster of the #TobaccoFreeGeneration Now! Concert (expressing support and announcing participation) |
| May 31, 6:00-9:00 pm | Countdown every two hours to the launch of BIBO Video message of Secretary Leonor Magtolis Briones during the #TobaccoFreeGen eration Now! Concert, formally announcing the launch of DepEd’s BIBO Campaign for #WNTD2020 and the National No Smoking Month (the concert will also be streamed in the DepEd Philippines page) |
| June 1-30 | Month-long content creation contest for learners and DepEd personnel, supplemented by online activities (e.g., Tiktok dance challenge based on the BIBO gesture, IG filter of the face mask, weekly webinars, campaign plugs and guestings during existing Facebook shows, ActiBIBO Sheets or downloadable worksheets, videos, shared content, memes, etc.) *A more detailed online content plan is being finalized |
| June 28 | Pilot episode of “How Well D.O. You Know” Online Show which will reorient DepEd stakeholders on the key provisions of selected DepEd Orders; June 28, 2020 is the fourth year anniversary of the issuance of DO 48, s. 2016 |
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