Singapore Cancer Society breaks away from the usual scary smoking campaigns

Breaking away from the usual scary and gloomy campaigns and messages, Up & Up and Singapore Cancer Society launched the Give up for Good, as a part of its anti-smoking, part CSR initiative. The initiative brings together three stakeholders - smokers, corporates, cancer patients and their families with smokers.As a part of the initiative, smokers were urged to donate or give up any number of their cigarettes willingly. Corporate then matched or multiplied the street value of the collected cigarettes (at SG$0.60 a stick) in food items and necessities, which would be then distributed to needy cancer patients and their families.While the target was to collect 500 sticks of cigarettes, the final collection was worth 1,951 sticks, almost four times the target with a street value of SG$1,170.60.Corporate who have pledged food items and necessities include honestbee and Phoon Huat and supported by Pokka, Yakult.  The brands will now match or multiply the sum of SG$1170.60 in food items and necessities for cancer patients and their families.“The initiative encourages smokers to think about the harm that they do to themselves and their loved ones and how by just giving up a few cigarettes they can do good for other people,”said Albert Ching, CEO of Singapore Cancer Society.“Smokers have always been socially isolated. We put them in a yellow box, give them disapproving looks for having an undesirable habit,” said Anand A Vathiyar, managing director, Up & Up.“Give up for Good treats smokers with consideration and engages them directly. It demonstrates the power of choice that smokers have with every stick of cigarette. When the smokers we approached found out that the cigarettes they take for granted could be food and more for cancer patients and their families, they were happy to donate. Maybe in time, they might give up their cigarettes for good,” added Vathiyar.