Countless tactics to scare smokers out of their nasty habit have been employed to all and sundry. Nothing seems to have worked significantly since smoking has not abated in the world, smoking being a physical and psychological addiction. This latest ploy in India to alarm smokers has not lessened the smoking phenomenon in the country one whit.
Six Inches Communication in Mumbai, in partnership with Courage India, a prominent NGO, has come out with a creative way to frighten smokers out of their lungs. Several units of the contraption, a cigarette lighter in the shape of smoker’s deteriorating lungs, have been attached to walls near roadside stores that vend cigarettes.
Small cigarette lighting coils jut out of either lung. The smoker presses the button to light up the cigarette at the coil. Over time, the lighter becomes black, thereby graphically showing smokers what cigarettes can do to the lungs.
While the public awareness campaign may be unique and creative, it takes more than scaring smokers to actually make them stop smoking. Cigarettes are ubiquitous, easily found and sold cheaply from even the smallest roadside store. As with all addictions, the demand is commensurate to supply. Only prohibitive costs of cigarette can slow down people on their smoking habit.
The best tactic is to raise the taxes of this ‘sin’ product to exorbitant heights so cigarettes stop being widely accessible. Of course, this all starts from the sheer political will of a government to implement. The tobacco lobby has been proven to be one of the strongest in the world.
Via osocio
