I don’t smoke and don’t like being around it. But a few people I know smoke so I’m around it sometimes.
What do I notice most about being around it? I’m always pulled in, and repulsed, by the gruesome photos on the cigarette packages depicting the unglamorous, ugly side of smoking. The packages present colorful themes like mouth cancer, dead lab rats, and smoke ravaged lungs to name a few.
I get the message, but I don’t need it and don’t need to see it.
The pictures are meant to gross out smokers. But the graphic pictures seem to just be reenforcing a “don’t smoke” message mainly to the people who don’t smoke. The pics don’t seem to affect the smokers I know; they’re too busy smoking and not looking at the package.
Currently, there’s a court battle going on between the government and tobacco companies. Tobacco companies argue that if their products need graphic warnings, then cars should be required to have “speed kills” pictures on cars, fast food should have “health danger” warnings, and so on for other dangerous products.
Of course, the tobacco companies don’t mention that those other products aren’t addictive which is the core issue.
What would be more effective than the current cigarette pack layout? Maybe the graphics space should be reversed, with the pictures taking up most of the space on the pack and only the lid being used for the brand name.
Bigger pictures and smaller branding would be even grosser to me but it might catch more smokers’ eyes when they’re reaching for another cig. Maybe that’d just cause a resurgence of those long coin purse type cigarette cases I used to see older ladies using… before they died.