To Smoke…

Or Not to Smoke…

That is the Question.

Five Things Comm Students Should Know About Anti-Smoking Ads

By Michelle Dubiel

Let’s take a second to think about this…

Do anti-smoking ads and messages really stop people from lighting up?

We’ve all seen the ads.

We’ve all seen the ads.

Y’all know what I’m talking about…

You’re sitting on the couch at home watching The Big Bang Theory…

All of a sudden it cuts to commercials and

All of a sudden it cuts to commercials and

BAM!

Another poor sap who smoked a hole in his throat is using a voice box on TV to tell you not to smoke.

Or maybe you’re driving down the road blasting “Call Me, Maybe”

…when you see an anti-smoking billboard on the side of the road.

But do these ads actually work?

Let’s look at some research.

According to the researchers from the Institute of Health Policy Studies and University of California, there are 8 different advertising strategies in which the problem of smoking is established.

According to the researchers from the Institute of Health Policy Studies and University of California, there are 8 different advertising strategies in which the problem of smoking is established.

They are…1. Industry

manipulation2. Secondhand

smoke3. Addiction4. Cessation5. Youth access6. Short-term

effects7. Long-term health

effects8. Romantic

Rejection

Their results concluded that industry manipulation and secondhand smoke

were the most effective advertising strategies when it comes to anti-

amoking messages.

You may be thinking, “well, why does this matter to

me?”

Because we all have a friend or family member that smokes cigarettes.

Or maybe you smoke cigarettes.

You might even have kids that are faced with the same decision one day!

Whichever the reason, we are all faced with the decision

whether or not to smoke cigarettes every day.

So do you think these ads are effective?

So do you think these ads are effective?

Let’s look at another example.

A researcher from the Institute for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention tested whether or not large-scale smoking campaigns

(advertisements) are more effective than community-based

campaigns (local clinics).

His research concluded that even though both types of

campaigns improve awareness, knowledge, and motivation,

large-scale campaigns were not as effective at smoking

cessation as personal clinics.

So…

So…

what do I think, you ask?

Advertisements try to sway people to do things everyday. My opinion, however, is that

one is not going to quit smoking just because an ad

says it’s bad for you. From my personal experience, someone isn’t going to kick a bad habit until they want to do it for the

benefit of themselves.

But that’s just my opinion!

Photo CreditIn order of appearance:http://www.morguefile.com/archive/display/785168http://www.morguefile.com/archive/display/633546http://www.morguefile.com/archive/display/52145http://www.morguefile.com/archive/display/92576http://www.morguefile.com/archive/display/641764http://www.morguefile.com/archive/display/159333Permission from:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mingaling/457921798/

Permission from: http://www.flickr.com/photos/thecigaretteisdead/2910118531/

http://www.morguefile.com/archive/display/89819http://www.morguefile.com/archive/display/73126http://www.morguefile.com/archive/display/12934

Research CreditGlantz, S. G. & Goldman, L. K. (1998). Evaluation of

antismoking advertising campaigns. The Journal of the American Medical Association, 279(10), 772-777.

Flay, B. R. (1987). Mass media and smoking cessation: A critical review. American Journal of Public Health, 77, 153-160.