Tobacco Advertising - Anti-smoking Advertising

Anti-smoking Advertising

Anti-smoking groups, particularly cancer charities, along with many government health departments have attempted to counter the advertising of tobacco by creating their own advertisements to highlight the negative effects of smoking. The earliest commercials mainly focused on aiding smoking cessation, the increased risk of lung cancer and the problems associated with passive smoking. However, they have become increasingly hard-hitting over the years, with some campaigns now centered around decreased physical attractiveness and the risk of erectile dysfunction. These are more targeted towards younger smokers than previous campaigns. The British government spent £31 million in 2003 as part of their anti-smoking campaign.

In 2005 the European Union launched the "For a life without tobacco" campaign in all its constituent countries to help people quit smoking.

In 2007 and 2008, the New York City Department of Health launched a series of anti-tobacco ad campaigns to promote the city's Quitline and a free nicotine patch and gum program. The first TV spots, "Smoking is Eating You Alive" and "Smoking is Eating You and Your Kids Alive," depict the damage smoking can do to the body. The ads were noted for their graphic nature as well as their effectiveness. The second series of ads launched 16 April 2008. In these, a 58-year-old woman and longtime smoker called "Marie" describes the amputations and pain she has undergone since developing Buerger's disease, a condition that limits blood flow through the arteries and which was tied to her smoking habit.

The Marlboro Man was one of the most successful cigarette advertising campaigns, lasting from the 1960s to the 1990s. The Marlboro brand was promoted by various cowboys, with Wayne McLaren posing for some promotional photographs in 1976. He died of lung cancer in 1992, having appeared in a television spot showing him in a hospital bed. That image was juxtaposed with him during the promotional shoot, with a voiceover warning about the dangers of smoking.