Leading social change consultancy The Hub has launched a groundbreaking behaviour change initiative, which aims to stamp out the purchase and supply of illicit tobacco across the North of England.

‘Get Some Answers’ was launched at Manchester Airport on Monday, June 21, and aims to shift social norms at a community level in order to reduce the prevalence of counterfeit and smuggled tobacco. 

The social marketing campaign – the first of its kind in the UK – contributes to the efforts of the North of England Tackling Illicit Tobacco for Better Health Programme – a collaboration between Smokefree North West, Smokefree Yorkshire & the Humber and Fresh Smoke Free North East, along with other partners including HM Revenue & Customs and local authority trading standards teams.

In communities across the North of England, the supply and demand of illicit tobacco is a deeply ingrained and socially accepted form of behaviour.  As a result, the Get Some Answers campaign adopts an ‘of the community, for the community’ approach.

The campaign aims to reposition illicit tobacco as a community issue by raising awareness of the impact the trade has on crime, young smokers and vulnerable families in local areas. Most importantly, it encourages citizens to ‘get some answers’ for themselves, in order to begin empowering communities to deal with the issue on their own terms.

Get Some Answers is the first step towards a goal of reducing opportunities for young people to start smoking, decreasing the number of adult smokers and helping to combat the crime and disorder associated with illegal imports and sales. 

Far from being a victimless crime, Cancer Research UK estimates that illicit tobacco kills four times as many people as smuggled illegal drugs, due to the impact that illicit tobacco’s low price incentive and widespread availability has on people's smoking habits. In addition to negative health consequences, illegal imports can exacerbate social problems in some of our most disadvantaged communities by creating opportunities for young people to start smoking at an early age and making it harder for people to quit.

David Wiggins, Interim Strategic Programme Manager and Marketing and Communications Coordinator for the Programme, said: "Illicit tobacco is a hugely complex problem and an issue that needs tackling from a multitude of different directions. Given that these practices are so deeply ingrained in our communities, this campaign is essential for raising awareness, shifting attitudes and ultimately changing behaviour.”

The campaign combines a through-the-line public facing campaign, incorporating radio, outdoor, PR, digital, guerrilla and ambient media with extensive partnership and stakeholder engagement activities across the North of England.

To find out more about the Get Some Answers campaign, go to www.get-some-answers.co.uk.