Tata Trusts launches a powerful film on World No Tobacco Day

Tata Trusts has launched a purposeful cause-driven awareness film, #DontQuitQuitting, encapsulating the demanding journey of people who are trying to quit tobacco. While around 34% of tobacco users in India have tried to quit, many tend to deteriorate. The film provides a crisp, fresh, distinctive, and nuanced outlook to the conversation on tobacco consumption – instead of simply emphasizing the risks and asking people to quit, it shows a raw and honest story of the setbacks and personal struggles that people experience along the path to tobacco termination. By affectionately throwing a light on the issue, the campaign is a motivation for people for staying resolute in their efforts to leave tobacco. 

The film follows the journey of a tobacco user as he navigates his own unique experience, using a powerful and evocative visual metaphor of a ‘gutka’ pack and a cigarette sticking persistently to his body, representing people’s hidden struggles to break free of this addiction. The film’s catchy lyrics, ‘Chipak Chipak,’ bring to focus the ‘sticky’, pervasive nature of people’s tobacco consumption habit and the relentless struggle to fight the constant urge and quit it. 

Deepshikha Surendran, Head of Brand and Marketing Communications, Tata Trusts, said, “When encouraging people to quit tobacco, we found that few uncover the struggles and emotional turbulence of de-addiction. At the Tata Trusts, we have been consistently raising awareness on the risks of tobacco use and its link to various types of cancer. This film with its unique execution and catchy lyrics is a powerful way to highlight the invisible and courageous struggles of those trying to quit tobacco. We recognize that quitting tobacco is a journey, and we hope that this campaign offers people encouragement and motivation to continue along this path till they succeed.” 

Neelanjan Dasgupta, Senior Creative Director, RepIndia, added, "In this world of constant conversations, we often forget the power of silence, and that actions are so much louder than words. This is why we wanted to use a visual analogy in the form of mime, as a mode to communicate a simple fact – quitting tobacco might be difficult but is not impossible. The brief from the Trusts clearly indicated that we should not be preachy. Instead, we aimed to create an interesting narrative using the power of action in a format most suitable for the digital audience." 

The film is now live and can be seen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4bqKhUuX8k. It has also been amplified across Tata Trusts’ social media platforms, including LinkedIn, Instagram, X, Sharechat, and Facebook. Through a digital-first launch, India’s leading philanthropic organization intends to spark meaningful conversations about the realities of quitting tobacco and offer motivation to the people undertaking this endeavour. Tata Trusts will also amplify three powerful real and lived experiences of people’s paths to de-addiction in the form of video testimonials, reminding people that they are not alone in this struggle and offering them hope for a tobacco-free life. This builds on the Trusts’ long-standing commitment to increasing awareness and advancing affordable, high-quality cancer care to millions of Indians, through the efforts of the Tata Cancer Care Foundation. So, start your journey today and Don’t Quit Quitting.