Anti-Smoking Ads Make Kids Smoke ???

[Atrail]

Link

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Advertisements launched by the tobacco industry to limit teen smoking may actually make them want to smoke more, researchers and anti-smoking activists said on Wednesday.


The ads seem to appeal to the contrary nature of many teens, and are "distinctly counter" to expert findings that have found that directly telling teens not to smoke only encourages them, a report published in the American Journal of Public Health finds.

They urged Philip Morris Cos Inc to drop its "Think. Don't Smoke" campaign, and said their own approach seemed to work better to discourage adolescents from smoking.

"The Philip Morris campaign is only intensifying the tobacco epidemic the country finds itself in today, and we will continue to work with (the American Legacy Foundation) and others to address this important public health issue," Dr. Mohammad Akhter, executive director of American Public Health Association (news - web sites), which publishes the journal, said in a statement.

Philip Morris said it would consider the criticisms.

"Philip Morris U.S.A.'s Youth Smoking Prevention department will review the study and supporting data and then seek a meeting with the American Legacy Foundation to learn more about their methodology and conclusions as well as to discuss ways we can work together toward our common goal of preventing youth smoking," Howard Willard, senior vice president for youth smoking prevention at the company, said in a statement.

"We are very interested in reviewing the American Legacy Foundation's study to see if any changes to our approach are warranted."

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[Atrail]

Guess everybody is smoked out ....

 

[nihil]

People smoke because they enjoy it. Regardless of the consequences.

 

[CedarTeeth135]

Those smoking commercials or...anti-smoking commercials haven't had an effect on me. I don't really pay attention to them. It just seems fake, and if I want to smoke, some ad isn't going to stop me.

 

[CrazyRyan]

Reverse psychology if you want them to do it tell them not to

Besides smoking cuts a few years off your dull pointless existence

 

[Amused]

You really have to read between the lines in this. A fanatical anti-smoking group that produces their own anti-smoking commercials (the laughable "truth" ads) is trying to demonize the tobacco companies in any way they can. The tobacco companies are damned if they do, damned if they don't here. NOTHING they do will be good enough for these fanatics.

 

[yakko]

I geuss something good did come out of the tobacco witch hunt....err...I mean lawsuit.

 

[Jimbo]

You really have to read between the lines in this. A fanatical anti-smoking group that produces their own anti-smoking commercials (the laughable "truth" ads) is trying to demonize the tobacco companies in any way they can. The tobacco companies are damned if they do, damned if they don't here. NOTHING they do will be good enough for these fanatics.

That is true.
In California the State has now started running anti-tobacco COMPANY advertisements. They were slamming them for their food distribution efforts in Bosnia and after the floods in Central America. Heaven forbid they actually do anything that may result in some good. Like I said before, there is big money in the tobacco settlement act and if you don't spend the money, no matter how foolishly, you lose your budget.

 

[tcsenter]

A fanatical anti-smoking group that produces their own anti-smoking commercials (the laughable "truth" ads) is trying to demonize the tobacco companies in any way they can.

Exactly, here's a clue:

They urged Philip Morris Cos Inc to drop its "Think. Don't Smoke" campaign, and said their own approach seemed to work better to discourage adolescents from smoking.

IOW, they don't want Philip Morris to be credited for anything positive whatsoever, only demonized. Their "don't smoke" ads are "effective", while Philip Morris' "don't smoke" ads entice kids to smoke? Absurd.

Of course, that smoking rates by minors have only gone up or remained constant since the tobacco industry stopped advertising virtually everywhere is lost on these idiots.