http://www.whudafxup.com/?ref=http://www.protectthetruth.org/truthcampaign.htm
In class on Monday we watched a video produced by the CDC that showed how health communication has changed throughout the last 50 years. It was very interesting to see the different health related issues from past years that are still relevant today. After I went home I started thinking about one issue in particular...smoking. It is amazing to me that not only do people continue to smoke but that more people begin smoking everyday. With the amount of knowledge we have about the health effects for the smoker and those around the smoker how can this continue to be a problem?
Then it occurred to me that smoking can still be viewed as "cool", "sexy" or "glamorous". Above I posted a link to a commercial from "the truth" anti-smoking campaign. According to their website www.protectthetruth.com, 21 million U.S. youth aged 12-17 can describe at least one "truth" ad and 25 million or 90% from this age group said the ad they saw was convincing. So if these ads are working why does it seem like there are so many smokers in the world? Are non-smokers like myself just more sensitive to smokers around them? It seems like hardly a day goes by that I don't get smoked on by someone! I guess the question is how do we get people to view smoking in the way it is portrayed on the truth ads and not as it is sometimes seen in the entertainment industry? As we talked about in class entertainment is one of the biggest ways that health is communicated. Until smoking is no longer associated with being cool or sexy we may be fighting an uphill battle.
6 comments:
Alicia,
I agree with your comment regarding fighting an "uphill battle" to stop the glamorization of smoking. This can be applied to anorexia and drinking as well.
Alicia,
If young people could see how truly unattractive and unglamorous the look while smoking maybe they would reconsider taking up this ugly habit! When you are young you don't think about the consequences.
I agree with yo mama in that young people don't think about the long term consequences. Even though those young adults who claimed to believe that the truth ads were convincing may be still unwilling to do what it takes to quit smoking. Obviously, to quit smoking takes a great deal of motivation and discipline. I believe a great deal of our youth lack these qualities and instead are quick to take the easy/lazy way out of things...which would be to continue smoking. They feel the immediate gratification but do not experience the negative long terms effects until it is too late.
Many smokers begin during their teen years when smoking can be seen as cool or hip. However, knowing the ill effects will not deter a youth if the motivation to begin smoking is not acceptance, but defiance. Often youths will engage in unacceptable behavior in order to get attention or gain acceptance. Fighting the urge to smoke will always be an "uphill battle" - as an ex-smoker for over 20 years, I still get an occasional urge to smoke. Thankfully it passes quickly.
As for those people who want to smoke and pay the high cost, let 'em. Just don't stand in the doorway and exhale when I have to walk through your pollution to get where I'm going!
It is hard to believe Alicia that with knowledge still comes poor choices. I hate to see young people start smoking and not realize how difficult it is to quit. I'm looking forward to solutions to this and other health concerns by you and your MPH classmates :)
Alicia, I don't feel that there is a glamorization of smoking any longer. I rarely view it on TV or in the movies. It is so anti-social to smoke now. I know, I've been a 30 year smoker who has tried to quit numerous times. Someday soon I will succeed. It was much easier to start than to quit. The Truth commercials are put out by the tobacco companies because they were forced to do so by law. But, doesn't our congress still subsidize the tobacco farmers? Seems there should be additional help besides helplines. I mean, those companies put additives into the tobacco to get us hooked. Shouldn't they be responsible to get us unhooked? I am not lazy, lack motivation or discipline. I just can't seem to quit no matter how much I hack and hack. And I do not smoke in a crowd or around non-smokers. Hell, it is hard to find anywhere to smoke these days. Had I met defiance for smoking when I was younger, I wouldn't be smoking now. Now it just pisses me off with how radical many non-smokers have become. Don't judge me, help me. Real Help, not ads.
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