Smoking in China
A video illustrating the consequences of smoking in China through the story of a fictional boy named Sam.
In China, awareness about the health hazards of smoking is low: Only 25% of Chinese adults have a comprehensive understanding of the specific health hazards of smoking; less than one-third of adults are aware of the dangers of secondhand smoke. I was appalled to read this. Having had the privilege to grow up around non-smokers, and now living in the U.S. where smoking is less of a common practice, I just assumed that knowledge about the health risks of tobacco was a given for everyone.
Artist
Borey Chea (2019)
Artist Lens
I believe that one part of doing public and global health is spreading awareness and education. This issue and this thinking motivated me to make a video that explains and educates Chinese people about the health risks associated with smoking. Because most smokers in China are men, and half of Chinese smokers aged 20 to 34 years started smoking daily in adolescence, young men are my intended audience.
I chose to use video as my medium, because it is attractive to almost everyone these days. The video narrates the life of a fictional boy named Sam. I used Sam as an example for the audience to not be like him. I want them to carry the knowledge of health consequences related to smoking they learned from the video with them and resist the cultural pressure of smoking.
Media
Video