National Anti-Smoking Campaign
A few samples of the quit smoking posters
“Tobacco consumption is the single largest preventable cause of premature death and disease in Australia.” So reads the ad from the Australia anti-smoking campaign, and it is true-scientific evidence confirms that smokers face significantly increased risks of death and or illness from numerous cancers, heart disease, stroke, emphysema and other respiratory diseases. Three million Australians still smoke in the country, and this, together with the people at risk from passive smoking, is the target audience of this health campaign. The Australian government hopes that with this campaign, the number of people smoking aged between 18-40 and also the number of parents allowing their children to smoke or is smoking themselves will decline. The younger a person quits smoking, the further the level of risk to smoking-related diseases will decrease (Quit Now, 2005).
The campaigns show the number of harmful ingredients that goes into making cigarettes, and also of their other uses-from painting roads to making bleaches and rat poisons, and showing how smokers inhale over 4000 chemicals into their body by just one puff alone. The campaign decides to illustrate how the organs in the body deteriorate and how others may be affected, in hope of scaring smokers into considering of quitting smoking (Quit Now, 2005).
Also, this campaign has a hidden agenda-to prevent people from harming others due to passive smoking. The smokers all make it a point to go away when they need a puff, since exposure to second-hand smoke also causes premature death and disease in children and adults who do not smoke. There is no risk-free level of exposure to second-hand smoke. This deters the smokers further by appealing to their fear for the health of their loved ones, and makes them think twice.
Since it has the full support from the government, it has its own telephone hotline, and a team that is ready to provide help when a smokers call, hoping for information. Callers will be advised on the values of quitting smoking, given warnings on what to expect during this rehabilitation period, and also get help on planning their quitting attempts, advice on different techniques, information on stop smoking programs and on how to kick the habit once and for all (Quit Now, 2005). Even though these measures are somehow similar to the Singapore version of anti-smoking, there are a few differences. Australia decided to market the idea as television ads and graphic images while Singapore went one step further by printing it on the cigarettes’ boxes. However, some have questioned the effectivity of it, because smokers can just buy cigarette cases to cover up the boxes or just ignore the warnings on the boxes.
Some of the different anti-smoking ad on cigarette boxes
The campaign links up to health psychology in some certain ways, for example, the biopsychosocial model. For the social part, Singapore banned smoking in most public places, to prevent passive smoking by innocent people, and also to prevent children from watching smoking adults and emulating the smokers around them (Thulaja, 2003). For the biological part, the smokers may come to understand that one day they will reap the benefits of quitting smoking, and will be more accepting of the idea of quitting. For the psychological part, if the governments continue instilling the fear appeal for the harmful effects of smoking, then the number of smokers will decline.
As with obesity ads, anti-smoking campaigns are always ongoing, except with different methods, so the affectivity is also questionable. However, smoking campaigns in Australia in the past has only depended on statistics and more ‘gentle’ warnings, with no report on how many people have fallen prey to smoking. Therefore, the smokers have that “I am indestructible, and nothing can ever harm or stop me” mentality. If there are “truthful” graphic images for the smokers that teach them that everybody can fall prey to the harmful effects of smoking, It may scare off the would –be smokers by showing them the bare facts that cigarette-makers hesitate to add. It may also force some to rethink their smoking habits, and people might be more obliged to quit their smoking habits.
Click here to visit the website of the National Anti-Smoking Campaign of Australia.