bassdudez

Hello again intelligent AO members.......

Another news flash here........ I just heard that in some places, they have taken the cigarette warning labels to a whole new stage.

Picture this === smoke packets with images of huge deformed faces and necks formed from the effect of long term smoking. Bulging red necks with veins sticking out, wrecked teeth blackened with tobacco, bleeding brains, cancer etc. The packets are designed to show the effects of smoking to the users, and might make them think twice the next time they reach for a smoke.

What do you think of this new strategy of theirs? They say that no significant change in the number of smokers has occurred yet, but it might just be a matter of time. However, like some others have said, the packets have little or no effect whatsoever, and will soon fade into the background......

Please share your thoughts




edit: ::The study found that at least 44% of smokers were motivated to give up smoking, with 62% finding the packets were unsightly, leading some to hide packets from view and some to exchange a packet because they did not like the image on it.::

These statistics were from a research conducted by the Canadian Research Association. Although these obviously do not reflect the whole world, this signifies that the new smoking packets have a tremendous effect on one place at least.

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erosennin

It won't work. Shock tactics don't work period. Every person that smokes knows what's going to happen if they don't stop and continues anyway. It is because they are addicted to nicotine and believe they can't quit, or are too afraid to try.

At the same time, new smokers come into the fold because people they know/admire are doing it, not because they don't know the consequences. The key lies in getting current addicts to quit through recognition of their problem and treatment, just like you would do with any other drug problem. It's as simple as that, but that's not as much as a 'quick fix' or as visible as the shocker campaigns.

In my opinion, all the shock factor stuff is there just to be visible, so people can say, "Look! We're doing something" the fact that the something isn't particularly doing anything doesn't matter, just that it's there.

Again, I used to smoke. The ads did not keep me from starting, nor did they make me quit. I knew, every time I lit a cigarette, what the end result would be if I continued to do so throughout my life. Even that did not make me quit. Shock did not make me quit. The love of my fiancé did, and even then I had trouble.

The base of the problem is this: Smoking is a drug addiction. Smokers are drug addicts, but we do not treat it as such. Even now we refer to it as, "the habit", and seem to think that, like all habits, we can just tell people that it's bad and they'll stop. Sure. That'll work. If you ever meet a heroine addict, tell them that it's bad and that it'll kill them eventually. Show them a few pictures of the near terminal heroine addict. That'll definitely get them to quit. What a joke.

bassdudez

Hmm....... I agree to a certain point. HOwever, there are some who do not entirely believe, or do not realise the extent of the damages until they SEE it.... and I think in some ways, seeing is always a lot better than just hearing about it, or being lectured about it.

And as for the new smokers, I think that first-time smokers are much more easily repelled by these images (which are extremely repulsive btw......) And now that I think about it, I think those images might actually be targeted to non-smokers who are tempted to smoke actually....... because what you say is true; addicts wont really get affected by shock tactics at this point.... they need serious help

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erosennin

I would definitely like to think that the images would keep kids from starting, but I've also walked the other side of the line. In my opinion there need to be risk factors considered. Having parents, friends, and role models that do not smoke puts you at low risk to starting. Likewise, if one or all of the above do smoke they are at considerably higher risk.

Consider this, who do you care more about? Strangers, or friends and family? Now consider that you are young and impressionable. You know what smoking does and have more than likely seen images of black lungs, etc. At the same time, your friends and family are smoking, despite the fact they know this same information. Now consider that they tell you not to do it, and then continue to smoke themselves. Obviously there must be a positive benefit to smoking inspite of the overwhelming negatives, otherwise no one would do it, right?

Tada. That's the trap. The fact of the matter is we don't need to worry about kids at low risk. They're not curious in the first place (and, oddly enough, the most affected by shocker adds). You never figure it out until it's too late. No ammount of gruesome images are going to get rid of the reason why people start. It's a viscious cycle, people start smoking because other people smoke.

Knowing this, the prevailing theory of shock campaigns is seemingly to keep people from starting, but in order to keep people from starting you must get current smokers to quit, thus eliminating the reason to start, which shock campaigns make no attempt at.

Let us also consider that tobacco companies make large donations to the firms producing these ads. Is it because big tobacco has an honest interest in putting itself out of business, or because they know these things don't work.

Food for thought

Hold.Me.X.Thrill.Me

If it dosn't work on the smokers then it will definatly work on their friends and family. Who would want to sit their watching their friend smoke and can see what will happen to them right infront of them!

Also, it may not help smokers to quit, but it should have an effect on the ammount of people who start smoking. If they see what is going to happen to them, they may not be as stupid and not start at all.

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TY Sasurai for the lovely sig!*

Miroku4444

Um, your wrong. It depends on the person in regard to if shock tactics will work. When i was a kid i was shown all this stuff about how bad smoking is, and i took it to heart. When ever i started to think about smoking, all those bad mental images poped back into my head.

The one that got me the most was the one against snuff. They use to show us guys that had the whole side of their face rotted off as a result of using snuff. I was like, " I ain't never usind this ******* crap".

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"You'll hunt me. You'll condemn me, you'll set the dogs on me. But that's what has to happen."

erosennin

Did your parents smoke? Did your friends smoke? Did you have any reason whatsoever to start smoking, ever? If not, you fit into the low to no risk person who is, oddly enough, the most affected by shock tactics. So sorry, but I'm right.

Edit: In other words, you're one of the people that we don't need to worry about. Congratulations on not smoking, but I think we seriously need to ask, would you have started if you hadn't seen them? I doubt it.

Miroku4444

Well i have friend and family that smoke. I was offered to smoke in HS too, which i said no. SO yes i win.

Im just not stupid. After i saw the effects of what that crap can do, why would i smoke? I dont care if i would have lost all my friends i wouldnt have smoked.

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"You'll hunt me. You'll condemn me, you'll set the dogs on me. But that's what has to happen."

Hassun

I think images like that could be pretty effective. Especially in the USA.
At least more effective than putting those lame messages on the packs.

I remember how effective those advertisements against smoking were.

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Exoparadapsyphobia

I agree with Kastelic444. The effectiveness of shock tactics depends on the people or person it's being practiced on. Some people could care less about what smoking could do to them and start smoking anyway, or keep smoking. Some could get the bejesus scared out of them or take the messages and pictures to heart and never pick up a cigarette, or decide to quit that very day. It's just a matter of who.

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ketaro

It won't work, once you are addicted you cannot stop. I know that there are some people that have quit smoking successfully, but not everyone is the same. when you don't have somebody next to you supporting you and stuff like that it is realy hard to quit smoking.