Anti-smoking ads

Radd

They need to stop being so graphic.

IanExMachina

I like them being graphic personally.

Or at the very least shocking.

ClockworkUniverse

When they aren't graphic, they suddenly become smoking ads.

Radd

I get that I shouldn't smoke. I don't need to see tar-filled lungs being squeezed until the tar pours out (internet) and people being opened up (TV) to get that.

IanExMachina

However it might work better on others.

Malkavian

So you don't like anti-smoking ads because they point out the things smoking does to you?

MillerCross

I feel that it should be like alcohol ads and simply warn you that it's dangerous. I mean, smoking is still legal, it's your choice if you wanna do it. Not a wise one, but still a choice.

Waltzy

The ones I hated were those "kissing a smoker" ads where like these weird dolls were-ugh it was just so gross. They like picked up a gooey dead rat dripping with poison and tried to kiss their boyfriend/girlfriend with it stuffed in their mouth and it was really gross.

I get the idea behind it though.

Radd

@Malk

They can do it in a way that isn't fucking gross.

MadassAlex

So you don't like anti-smoking ads because they point out the things smoking does to you?

---

Yeah, it's bad enough having parents and friends harping on about it all the time, not to mention one's own personal knowledge of the effects. And it's the worst when it's people you've just recently gotten to know, or when complete strangers point it out.

Overall, I find it all very condescending. Smoking sucks and the effects should be widely known. That's more than reasonable. But that doesn't mean smokers need to be talked down to. Especially because the people who talk down have invariably never had a substance addiction. It's very easy to spot the people who have because they discuss it in an entirely different way.

Malkavian

No they can't Radd. The point is to make smoking as unappealing as possible. If we wanted to show how the nazis were evil, we wouldn't skip over the holocaust because it's icky.

RedEyedAbyss

^^I see. Even if people have a bad habit, they are still people with feelings and should be treated as such, especially since depression makes it harder to break out of the bad habit.

ClockworkUniverse

^^^I've been much more sympathetic to smokers since senior year of highschool. I roomed with a guy who was trying to quit during our choir tour. He gave his pack to our other roommate and told him to go out into the hotel, find some random trash can not near our room and drop them in there.

glennmagusharvey

I don't think that showing pictures of smokers' gory lungs is going to convince many current smokers to quit.  Current smokers either recognize it as a bad habit already, or don't want to quit and likely don't care about gory pictures.

The best effect gory pictures might have is to dissuade new smokers from starting.

Malkavian

Yeah, and I think the latter is more the goal.

That said, as an ex-smoker I do think there needs to be a more supportive and less condescending manner of encouraging quitting.

glennmagusharvey

> That said, as an ex-smoker I do think there needs to be a more supportive and less condescending manner of encouraging quitting.

I like this idea.

IanExMachina

>That said, as an ex-smoker I do think there needs to be a more supportive and less condescending manner of encouraging quitting.

Over here as well as the adverts we have the NHS based 'Smokefree' where they send you information and have free local groups where you can get support and information when you are trying to quit along with a lot of other resources.

TheConductor

I've often suggested a 90% tax on tobacco products, with that extra money going to the NHS.

Malkavian

The trouble with a tobacco tax is it makes governments less keen on actually encouraging people to stop.

RedEyedAbyss

Oh yes. The provincial goverment here makes a hell of a lot of money off that.

Scrye2

What's weird is whenever I see those ads, I start to crave another cigarette.