Back in the 90’s, the Australian Government released a graphic ad campaign where fatty muck was squeezed from an artery and tar pooled onto a lung.
In a campaign follow-up later on the Department of Health noted recognition of the campaign remained high among smokers and recent quitters, leading a third of smokers to feel bad about sucking on the cancer-stick.
If you don’t remember them, check some of the ads out below.
The 1997 ‘Every cigarette is doing you damage’ campaign has been one of the campaigns that has aided in the reduction of teen smokers, tobacco expert Simon Chapman, told the ABC.
“When that campaign first started, we saw a really unprecedented fall in teenage smoking,” he said.
“They lifted the lid on what smoking does to you inside your body. When you smoke you can’t see your lungs, you can’t see your brain, you can’t see emphysema.”
A new report from Public Health Research & Practice, titled Factors influencing reductions in smoking among Australian adolescents also cited numerous other campaigns and the effects of plain packaging as aiding in smoking reductions.
“Australia has been at the forefront of developments aimed at reducing the appeal of cigarette pack branding, through innovative packaging and labelling strategies,” the report says.
“A key objective of the Australian Government’s tobacco plain packaging measure, introduced in 2012, was to reduce the attractiveness and appeal of tobacco products to consumers, particularly adolescents.”
While the report says it’s too early to see a huge amount of impact, early results are positive.
And apparently the campaigns and plain packaging are doing some good, as Australia has seen reductions in smoking between the ages of 12 and 24. Teen smoking is also at a “record low” with only 3.4 per cent smoking daily
However, it’s not all fluffy bunnies when it comes to getting people to quit. The report says that while tobacco companies aren’t allowed to advertise on TV or mass media, they’re finding other ways around such as characters smoking in computer games.
Servo BP recently came under fire for bollards at the front of its stores which looked suspiciously like cigarettes…
Similarly, electronic cigarettes – e-cigs – have been slammed for allegedly encouraging kids with lolly-flavoured ciggies.
