Given the society that we currently live in, it is almost acceptable to have any kind of commercial aired. Advertisements promoting cigarette smoking have been aired for so long despite the fact that some organizations have been campaigning against it. When one is viewing an advertisement on cigarette smoking, it might not seem like anything serious, but in a real sense, it has a lot of effect on people adults as well as small children. Since the dangers that come with the action of smoking tobacco are not aired as much as promoting its intake is, most people are unaware of the risks they are putting their lives in because it might be lethal.
Cigarettes are made of tobacco, which is a stimulant drug and has many effects on the human body. Tobacco contains nicotine which is found in small quantities in the human body. However, its quantity in tobacco is a lot and is inhaled in little quantities but is very harmful and turns its users into helpless addicts. This is the reason why when one starts smoking. It is usually very difficult for them to stop because their bodies become dependent on nicotine.
For one to begin smoking, there is usually something negative happening in their lives that is making them want to compensate with smoking. Personal distress is one of these factors. When an individual experiences certain issues in life that he finds difficult to deal with, they tend to turn to things like smoking or even drinking to help them deal with the situation, which is normally not so. Although most people smoking think that it is better than consuming alcohol since it does not make one lose consciousness, it also has the same deadly effects. By the time one realizes that smoking cigarettes will not send your problems away but rather create new ones, they will have created a cycle by then which will be very difficult to break from, and within no time, they have branded the name ‘addicts.’
In cases where the young children are involved or teenagers, it always has to do with influence. For young children, what influences them the most is the environment surrounding them, whether it is the parent or just the people around them, and the advertisements on television encourage them more. Children usually try to copy what the adults are doing, and although they usually know that it is wrong, they still want to try it as they are mischievous and rebellious. Hence, the habits that they pick when they are young may stick with them even as they grow up, and it will be very hard for them to stop (Walker and Brin 182).
Peer pressure is usually the main factor for teenagers to engage themselves in such activities. The stage of adolescence comes with a lot of attitudes. The teenagers in this stage will tend to smoke to prove to others that they can do just about anything, and within no time, it grows into a habit, and they cannot be able to stop. Other causes of cigarette smoking include pleasure where one is smoking for no reason at all other than the fact that it makes him feel stimulated and good, which obviously does not last for long, and he will take longer to smoke again to experience the same effect.
In the commercials promoting cigarette smoking, they just mention that it is harmful to one’s health, but they do not give any further details. People who smoke are usually aware of the harmful effects that smoking can have on their health, but they still continue smoking—the most common effect of smoking that is very dangerous as well as the risk of getting cancer. “Faced with new incontrovertible evidence, the tobacco companies have abandoned their claim that cigarettes have not been shown to cause cancer” (Johnson par. 9). Smoking cigarettes causes cancer of the lungs and most parts used for inhalation, the kidney too can get cancer because of smoking, heart diseases are also very common, and in most cases, they lead to death. Tar, which is mostly inhaled, causes great damage to the circulatory system of the body. This is because tar causes the blood to get thicker and heavy hence, corroding the walls of the circulatory vessels. This leaves the heart vulnerable as many fats are deposited, which in turn leads to coronary diseases and stroke.
Other related negative effects of cigarette smoking are damage to the mouth, especially the teeth, which break and stain caused by tar from the smoke inhaled.” Toxic ingredients in cigarette smoke travel throughout the body, causing damage in several ways” (Martin par.6). The fingers are also damaged really bad and make one look dirty or appear unhygienic.
Expectant women are also warned against smoking because this might cause the mother to miscarry or it might harm the unborn baby, and its born may have deformities.
Since cigarette smoking receives a lot of publicity from the commercials on television, many health organizations are against it. People are mostly aware of the negative effects of cigarette smoking but choose to ignore them, and the advertisements entice them even more, to continue smoking. Other governments in some countries agreed to ban the advertising of cigarettes through commercials, but the tobacco companies are always fighting for this right. It was even suggested by some organizations that whenever there is a cigarette smoking advertisement, there should also be one warning the audience of the hazardous dangers involved. This did not last long because, in 1969, there was a ban on advertising cigarette smoking, and the tobacco companies had agreed to it because this way, they would invest their money elsewhere (Baker 8).
Although commercials on cigarette smoking have been banned in some countries such as United Kingdom, New Zealand, and Ireland, still the rates of cigarette smoking have not decreased. Individuals that are addicted to cigarette smoking will not quit simply because cigarettes are no longer being advertised, and cigarette smoking can also get a lot of publicity from other sources still in the media. A lot of shows and movies involve people smoking unlimitedly, and since children have idols in those shows, they tend to pick such habits from their media personalities.
In other countries, although the government might be against the spotlight falling on the cigarette-smoking scene, still the commercials are still being aired. This is because as much as the government is supporting the ban, the tobacco companies are opposing them with whatever it takes since they are also getting support from some government officials and some media houses, so, despite the fact that the government is against it, the advertisements are still aired.
The tobacco companies know which people to target by commercials; hence try to use shows that are likely to be viewed mostly by young adults. Tobacco companies only care about the income generated and know that advertising will act as a catalyst for them. This is because once an advertisement is viewed by somebody, it has effects on them as they do not forget about it easily (Saffer 218).
Therefore, cigarette smoking is very harmful to a person’s health, and therefore people should try to reduce the consumption rate to have a healthier lifestyle. Most health organizations, e.g., World Health Organization(WHO), want this and have tried to impose a ban on television commercials of cigarettes. It has succeeded in some countries, but in other countries, television advertisement has advanced to other levels where the tobacco companies are now using films and shows to target their buyers. Instead of smoking rates decreasing they, are still steady, and commercials promoting cigarette smoking are still being aired in some countries.
Works Cited
Baker, Frank. Deconstructing Cigarette Ads in a Counter Advertising Shop. 2009. Web.
Johnson, George. “A Long Trail of Evidence Links Cigarette Smoking to Lung Cancer. ” Clinical Oncology Journal (2008): n.pag. On Science. Web.
Martin, Terry. The Effects of Smoking on Human Health. 2008. Web.
Saffer, Henry. “Tobacco Advertising and Promotion”. n. d. Web. 2010.
Walker, Weldon and Burton Brin.” U. S. Lung Cancer Mortality and Declining Cigarette Tobacco Consumption.” Journal of Clinical Epidemiology 414 (1988): 179-185. Web. 2010.