Reaching Workers at Work: Smokers’ Helpline Campaign

Research shows that there are real psychological barriers to picking up a phone and talking to a stranger about a very emotional and difficult subject – smoking. Some people think they’re going to be judged, some think they are going to have to commit. The goal for this campaign is to reach workers at their place of employment to create awareness about the Smokers’ Helpline without using the standard “stop smoking” message – and help break down some of the preconceptions.
The campaign, a first-of-its-kind, involves posters, stickers and self-contained telephones placed at workplaces across the province – all addressing the barriers identified in the research phase. For example, posters have been placed in lunchrooms and stickers have been placed on employee pay stubs. The telephones are the basis for the campaign, a unique and first time tactic to talk to employees at work. They are self-contained and are displayed in high-traffic employee areas such as lunchrooms. Materials have been distributed to over 6,000 employees across Nova Scotia including the Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation, Stream International in Cape Breton and the Westin Nova Scotia in Halifax.

Since its launch in November 2002, the Smokers’ Helpline has supposed more than 8049 smokers and non-smokers in Nova Scotia. (Both calls in and calls out). Calls are toll-free and there is no charge for the service. Quit Specialists welcome calls from smokers who want to quit, smokers who may not be ready to quit, and people who want to help a smoker quit. 1 877 513 5333.