Policies that impact people’s habits and lifestyle need public support to ensure the success of any campaign.  Work in tobacco control, therefore, starts gradually building up over time and is often wrought with many challenges, says Magdalena Petryniak, the Smokefree Poland Coordinator at MANKO.  Dominika Kawalec, Public Relations Specialist at MANKO, believes that although people have been tolerant of others’ smoking habits in and around public places, they were increasingly losing their patience with smokers and were grateful when smokefree policies were put in place, according to several polls they conducted across Poland.

This is when MANKO, which has received a Bloomberg Initiative grant through The Union, stepped in with a number of activities to raise public awareness of the harms of tobacco use on those who consume it and those who breathe second-hand smoke. MANKO believed that the public was becoming more receptive to changes in law, but they also needed to work with business owners to get them onboard with their planned activities, demonstrating to them that a smoking ban would not lead to loss of income.

Through an online media campaign MANKO published a map of restaurants and bars that ban smoking for those wishing to enjoy a night out in a smokefree environment. To encourage restaurant and bar proprietors to join the initiative, MANKO offered them free advertising on the site. The map was also printed and distributed at tourist information desks to hand out to visitors to Poland, serving the dual purpose as a tourist and smokefree venues map.

MANKO understands that to succeed in reaching their goals they must enlist the support of multiple groups, including the media and civil society organisations, as well as law enforcement. They launched a media campaign in cooperation with local and international civil-society organisations, as well as government bodies and the hospitality sector. With an active press office, the partners were able to garner the support of local and national media outlets in Poland. The public were given a number to report anonymously breaches of the smokefree law, which MANKO then collated and reported to law enforcement officials to ensure adherence to the law.

MANKO has now become a household name due to favourable media coverage, which is also helping them carry their mission further. In October, MANKO was recognised with two awards in the Golden Clasp competition held by the Public Relations Industry in Poland.  Their Smoke Free Zones campaign won the best Public Relations and advocacy campaign.  Today, MANKO and other groups promoting tobacco control legislation have helped make Poland one of the leading countries in Central and Eastern Europe taking up the issue.