Francophones and Tobacco Use in Canada Lessons Learned From the Tobacco Demand Reduction Strategy 1994-1997

2.0 Key Lessons Learned from 1994 to 1997

2.3 Lesson III - The fact that Canada's Francophone population shares the same language does not make it a homogenous clientele

2.3.1 The Francophone population is made up of distinct communities

The Francophone population of Canada is made up of many communities. Although they share a number of characteristics, each community has its own unique features and issues. Unlike Québécois Francophones who have strength in numbers, Franco-Canadians are a linguistic minority with fewer means and resources at their disposal. As a linguistic minority, they face a number of obstacles including illiteracy, assimilation, cultural isolation and problems taking charge of their own destiny.

These factors have a major impact on a population's attitude and behaviour and on the means chosen to communicate with that population. For instance, an advertising approach used to great effect in a French Québécois setting may trigger a completely different reaction in Franco-Canadians who have their own stock-phrases, their own "language" or code, in short, their own culture.

Moreover, important distinctions must be made among the minority communities themselves. Each has its own set of socio-demographic, economic and cultural characteristics that sets it apart from the others. In some respects, Acadians and Franco-Ontarians display similar traits, but each has unique features that must be accounted for in any targeted action. The same applies to Franco-Manitobans, Fransaskois, Franco-British Columbians and other Francophones of Canada.

Strategies, programs and messages that fail to take that into account risk being met with indifference or outright rejection.

2.3.2 As a linguistic minority, Franco-Canadians face a different reality

Francophones in Québéc form a majority. This means that programs, services, campaigns and communication tools are created by and for Québécois Francophones and therefore reflect their most basic values, beliefs and cultural traits.

The situation is altogether different for Franco-Canadians. Programs, services, campaigns and communication tools are usually designed from the majority's perspective, i.e. an Anglophone cultural perspective. More often than not, Franco-Canadians receive a translated "product", usually sorely lacking in both flavor and color, that reflects none of their values and beliefs. Translated products often fail because they are not culturally adapted to or in sync with the needs and life priorities of the intended audience. In a situation where linguistic and economic survival is the chief concern, smoking may seem a rather secondary issue in the minds of many Franco-Canadians.

The lack of resources is another obstacle. Compared to Québécois Francophones and English Canadians, Franco-Canadians have few resources and none of the benefits that come from having access to a sophisticated communication and media infrastructure. For example, up until May 1999, Franco-Canadians were linked by a single broadcaster: Radio-Canada (CBC). TVA, a Québéc-based television network has just now begun to broadcast to Franco-Canadians. Outside Québéc, there are but two daily newspapers, approximately 30 weeklies and 15 community radio stations. In a linguistic minority setting, mass communication is not a viable option. Word-of-mouth and social or personalized contact have time and again proven more effective than the media approach. As a result, the communication challenge in a linguistic minority setting is more complex, more time-consuming and more labour-intensive.

It should also be noted that not all linguistic minority communities are on an equal footing when it comes to resources and access to programs and services. For instance, Franco-Ontarians have much better access to French-language programs and services than do the Francophones in British Columbia or Newfoundland.

2.3.3 We know what we do not know about Francophones and tobacco use

From the time the Tobacco Demand Reduction Strategy was first implemented, Price Waterhouse began researching the needs of Francophones with respect to smoking prevention and cessation programs. ⁽⁴²⁾ The resulting study clearly underscores the need for more in-depth research in order to sketch a fuller, more reliable portrait of each community. Significant data on Franco-Canadians are scarce. There is an almost total lack of quantitative data on their attitudes and behaviourss and the factors that prompt them to smoke. More often than not, we have had to rely on theories and hypothesis. The Price Waterhouse report raises two key questions:

• Do Francophones in certain provinces of Canada have characteristics specific to disadvantaged communities that make them more susceptible to smoking?
• Furthermore, what specific cultural characteristics prompt more of them to smoke?

A number of studies, where efforts were made to include Francophones in the sampling, fail to systematically analyze data according to the language spoken. This is a major deficiency that needs to be addressed. There is a similar problem with the evaluation of bilingual prevention and cessation program. Often, an insufficient sample prevents conclusions or even comparisons. In cases where sufficient samples are used, data on the language spoken are left out of the equation. This makes it impossible to determine the effectiveness of a program for the targeted Francophone client group. For example, in the evaluation of the Break-Free All Stars program ⁽⁴³⁾, no distinction was made between the results of Anglophones and Francophones, despite the high percentage of Francophone participation.

In short, we know what we do not know about Francophones, health and tobacco use. We have a puzzle with missing pieces. Finding them is a priority.

2.3.4 Few programs are designed by and for Franco-Canadians

The same Price Waterhouse report also underscores the lack of French-language resources outside Québéc. Programs designed specifically for the Franco-Canadian population are scarce. Many have been translated and require various degrees of cultural adaptation to better fit the reality, needs and values of the intended audience. The program Stop Smoking for Women is a good example.

French-language resources available in 1995 were mostly found in Québéc and Ontario. Since then, however, new resources have been developed and others adapted to better support community awareness-raising efforts and social marketing initiatives. For example, French-Canadian promoters and marketers have been able to enhance their tool kit with the 1997 social marketing how-to guide entitled "French Canada and Tobacco, A Social Marketing Challenge". This joint initiative by the Francophone Sub-Committee of the Steering Committee of the National Strategy to Reduce Tobacco Use and the Program Training Consultation Centre was made possible thanks to the support of Health Canada.

Among other new resources developed or adapted since 1995, we should mention A Smoke-Free Pregnancy, a support program specially created for pregnant Franco-Ontarian women in the Ottawa-Carleton region. The kit includes five booklets that can be used on an individual basis, in one-on-one counseling, or a group setting. The program Diary of a Teenage Smoker is an excellent example of a perfectly culturally-adapted product. The video features actual Francophone actors instead of subtitles, an approach that young Francophone women found much more palatable.

Franco-Canadians intensely dislike translations. This finding was confirmed in focus group discussions and in social marketing guides (44). Programs that are well adapted or, preferably, designed by and for Francophones have by far the greatest chance of succeeding.