There's a particularly heinous ad showing a man with a permanent tracheotomy (who, hilariously enough, has a bit of a latin flair to the accent of his computerized voice) who urges people not to ever start smoking.
That's all well and good, if it works, but this seems like the wrong approach.
Speaking from personally experience, when I was a young lad, before I ever smoked anything, such an ad would have grossed me out on both a visceral as well as a moral level. I hate paternalism. Hate it. But the thing is, when I didn't smoke, I never really thought that I would. There's no point in telling non-smokers not to start, unless they are very impressionable children.
Likewise, once you are smoking, any kind of anti-smoking ad makes the smoker immediately reach for the pack. I don't know if it's some form of unconscious rebellion, suggestion, or what have you, but it's a strong force.
This has led me to believe that one reason the tobacco companies are so apt to sponsor anti-smoking ads (aside from the fact that they are forced to), is that these ads really do increase revenue, quite a bit, for the tobacco companies.
Maybe that's some wacky conspiracy theory, but my advice seems much more simple and intuitive: Don't fetishize smoking. Don't condemn it as a moral ill. Do continue notifying the public on the health consequences, that may help, but for the love of god, realize that silly people - of which the world is primarily composed - will always rebel against paternalism indiscriminately.
And maybe lower the taxes on cigars. As well as a sliding tax scale for expensive, additive free cigarettes as opposed to the cheap generic brands.
1 comment:
Nik Gosmon says:
The Economist recently discussed "The Rise of Soft Paternalism."
I have to say that something has encouraged Americans to smoke far less than they did 30, 50 years ago. I'm all for free speech, but, all the same, I have to think that banning adverts glorifying smoking cigarettes as in the public good.
But as for the shock-and-awe campaign?
Regardless, though, if you're not taking up publicly financed healthcare in your self-destroying habit, who cares?
M laughs in disgust every time she hears "TOBACCO SMOKES YOU!" Does it make her smoke in rebellion? Do these sort of "PSA"s simply make you THINK of smoking -- which you'll do if you're a smoker, and if you're not you won't care?
An interesting idea.
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