Public health friends who are communicating about masks, there's a lot we can learn from health promotion about drugs and condoms. Some tips:

1) Honesty is important. We need to acknowledge the challenges. These include discomfort and sometimes distress: masks can be stifling and seeing everybody wearing them is an upsetting reminder of just how strange our lives have become.

2) Shaming people is harmful, and doesn't promote behaviour change. We need to understand why some people don't want to wear masks or find it difficult and address those reasons.

Shaming those who don't wear masks creates stigma against those who *can't* wear masks, sometimes for invisible reasons like severe asthma or claustrophobia.

3) Zero tolerance "simple" messaging isn't sufficient. "Just say no" doesn't work for drugs, abstinence only isn't effective sex ed. "Just wear a mask" isn't likely to work either. We need to explain why they're needed, how they work, and address people's misgivings.