The Canadian Lung Association is drawing a connection between the forest fires that ravaged the landscape this year, and people’s health.

While many people in Canada equate bad lung health with smoking – thanks to significant campaigns in the past – the organization points out that factors such as poor air quality can also be a culprit.

In OOH and print creative, agency partner McCann fashioned a raging forest fire as part of a burning cigarette, with the caption: “When our forests are smoking, so are you.”

Ryan Timms, president of McCann Canada, tells strategy that the campaign is based on the insight that many people were unaware of the dangers of being outside during forest fires, and that it wasn’t uncommon to see a cyclist or a jogger when the sky was orange with smoke.

“We wanted to find a more visceral and visual way to spell out the danger,” Timms says. “So we went full circle and created a new anti-smoking campaign. We combined two worlds to create one powerful message.”

The art direction, Timms adds, purposely feels similar to an anti-smoking ad from the 90s to help convey the urgency of the message.

During the past few months, there were a number of news stories and studies that compared breathing wildfire smoke to smoking cigarettes.

In fact, insights from the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment revealed that an AQI (air quality index) of 20 is the equivalent of smoking one cigarette a day. On June 28 in Toronto, the AQI reached 184 (the highest value in the world). The Institute says that if a person was outdoor all day, it was equivalent to having smoked nine cigarettes.

By connecting air quality to lung health, the Canadian Lung Association hopes to keep lung health relevant and top of mind for all Canadians, now and in the future, Timms explains.

McCann also handled media.

According to the latest available data, wildfires burned around 18 million hectares of forest this summer in Canada, more than double the amount of land than the previous record-holding year, 1995.

This summer, McCann Canada also helped Melanoma Canada sound the alarm about sun exposure, warning there is no such thing as a safe tan.