2019 Winners & Shortlists

Describe any restrictions or regulations regarding Healthcare communications in your country/region (imposed by healthcare regulatory bodies, government, TV stations, etc.)

In 2012 the Lebanese government banned tobacco related advertising in television, radio, print media, and point of sale. Social Media platforms also don't allow ads that promote the use or sale of smoking accessories (ex: tobacco pipes, hookahs, hookah lounges, rolling papers, vaporized devices, shisha, electronic cigarettes).

Describe the target audience

While our main target audience was shisha smokers as they are the final decision makers when it comes to puffing or not. We also wanted to raise awareness among the general public, ultimately trying to get health specialists, media and government officials to rally behind our cause.

Write a short summary of what happens in the film

We open on a café in Beirut where people are enjoying their time. Customers are ordering and being served their shisha. Everything seems normal until our smokers take the first puff of their shisha. Suddenly their voices change, sounding like robotic cartoon characters. They immediately question the quality of their shisha and the effect on their voice. We finally get the explanation, few hours before being served helium was added to their shishas. We cut back on the customers having fun with their new cartoonish voices. Finally, the café waiter enters the scene with an iPad and starts playing a video message. At first, we only hear a robotic voice and see the upset reactions on the customers’ faces. We finally see the person talking, he is a throat cancer survivor, living with a permanent hole in in his throat, encouraging people to stop smoking before it’s too late.

Cultural/Context information for the jury

Lebanon, a country smoking its way to cancer In recent years, Lebanon has been ranked third globally for having the most smokers per capita, propelling this tiny country into the top 10 countries when it comes to smoking-related cancer. The Lebanese government has failed to enforce a smoking ban in public places and has received a violent backlash from the hospitality industry, which has pressured politicians to overlook this health crisis. Shisha is not “really” smoking While people in Lebanon have come to recognize the dangers of smoking, shisha is ironically seen as an exception. People even mention shisha as a healthier alternative, wrongly believing that this fun, flavoured and water-based social activity is not harmful to their health.