Can you remember why you started smoking? Was it to be cool? Was it to fit in with your friends who smoked? Did you believe it was part of your "coming of age"? Did you think it was sexy? Did you signify your independence? How did you get hooked and addicted? Why has it become so difficult to quit?
Let's begin with looking at the advertising industry's past and present roles in glamorizing smoking. Let's look at their many tactics, both obvious and subtle, that successfully lure millions of people into nicotine addiction.
Stop and consider where your image of smoking came from. When did inhaling thousands of toxic, cancer-causing fumes become the image of cool? For most people, the answer to that question is simple. It came from advertising. Your image of cigarettes, one you may not even be aware of, has been carefully crafted by highly paid, skilled marketing executives who are employed by multi-billion dollar tobacco corporations. These marketing moguls definitely know what they are doing.
Their ads don't paint the honest picture of cigarettes- what cigarettes contain and the harm that they cause. Have you ever seen an ad from a tobacco company which mentions that when you inhale cigarette smoke, you are taking in some of the same chemicals that are used to systematically kill rodents?
During the 50s and 60s, cigarette ads, whether in the form of television commercials, print ads in newspapers and magazines, or larger than life advertisements on outdoor billboards were always alluring, always appealing, and usually targeting a specific audience. There was the macho "Marlboro Man," a rugged cowboy with a cigarette dangling from his mouth- an image that personified manliness. In the 1960s, the introduction of Virginia Slims brand cigarettes and its "You've Come a Long Way, Baby" campaign targeted the growing population of women smokers by appealing to their sense of independence.
Advertisers had a field day with catchy cigarette slogans and popular phrases like "Winston Tastes Good like a Cigarette Should," "L&M. Just What the Doctor Ordered," and "Us Tareyton Smokers Would Rather Fight Than Switch."
Think about "Joe Camel," a cigarette-smoking cartoon camel. Supposedly, this image was created to attract young smokers, mostly between 18 and 25, to choose the Camel Brand. The seemingly amicable cartoon character also begun to attract and appeal to young children.
A 1991 article published in the Journal of American Medical Association showed that children who were just sex years old were able to recognize Joe Camel more than 90% of the time- about as often as they were able to identify the Micky Mouse logo used on the Disney Channel.
It was also concluded that it was the intention of the campaign to directly market to children. In 1997, under increasing criticism and pressure from anti-smoking groups, the Federal Trade Commission, and US Congress, the maker of Camel cigarettes voluntarily ended the use of Joe Camel in its ads.
The bottom line is this: Tobacco companies invest significant capital to make you think of positive images, be it sexy, beauty, independence, intelligence, wealth or popularity every time you see a cigarette. And it works.
So think about how you started smoking, and understand that you were systematically duped. The question now is, how can you stop?
One of the most effective and in recent years the most popular method you can choose in order to quit smoking for good is the stop smoking shot.
Let's begin with looking at the advertising industry's past and present roles in glamorizing smoking. Let's look at their many tactics, both obvious and subtle, that successfully lure millions of people into nicotine addiction.
Stop and consider where your image of smoking came from. When did inhaling thousands of toxic, cancer-causing fumes become the image of cool? For most people, the answer to that question is simple. It came from advertising. Your image of cigarettes, one you may not even be aware of, has been carefully crafted by highly paid, skilled marketing executives who are employed by multi-billion dollar tobacco corporations. These marketing moguls definitely know what they are doing.
Their ads don't paint the honest picture of cigarettes- what cigarettes contain and the harm that they cause. Have you ever seen an ad from a tobacco company which mentions that when you inhale cigarette smoke, you are taking in some of the same chemicals that are used to systematically kill rodents?
During the 50s and 60s, cigarette ads, whether in the form of television commercials, print ads in newspapers and magazines, or larger than life advertisements on outdoor billboards were always alluring, always appealing, and usually targeting a specific audience. There was the macho "Marlboro Man," a rugged cowboy with a cigarette dangling from his mouth- an image that personified manliness. In the 1960s, the introduction of Virginia Slims brand cigarettes and its "You've Come a Long Way, Baby" campaign targeted the growing population of women smokers by appealing to their sense of independence.
Advertisers had a field day with catchy cigarette slogans and popular phrases like "Winston Tastes Good like a Cigarette Should," "L&M. Just What the Doctor Ordered," and "Us Tareyton Smokers Would Rather Fight Than Switch."
Think about "Joe Camel," a cigarette-smoking cartoon camel. Supposedly, this image was created to attract young smokers, mostly between 18 and 25, to choose the Camel Brand. The seemingly amicable cartoon character also begun to attract and appeal to young children.
A 1991 article published in the Journal of American Medical Association showed that children who were just sex years old were able to recognize Joe Camel more than 90% of the time- about as often as they were able to identify the Micky Mouse logo used on the Disney Channel.
It was also concluded that it was the intention of the campaign to directly market to children. In 1997, under increasing criticism and pressure from anti-smoking groups, the Federal Trade Commission, and US Congress, the maker of Camel cigarettes voluntarily ended the use of Joe Camel in its ads.
The bottom line is this: Tobacco companies invest significant capital to make you think of positive images, be it sexy, beauty, independence, intelligence, wealth or popularity every time you see a cigarette. And it works.
So think about how you started smoking, and understand that you were systematically duped. The question now is, how can you stop?
One of the most effective and in recent years the most popular method you can choose in order to quit smoking for good is the stop smoking shot.
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