Warning: Labels That Go Too Far
Apparently, believing that along with a host of other dangers, smoking causes illiteracy, the FDA has switched to visual aids, in the form of eye-popping and grisly graphics.
Are you kidding me?
Did you happen to get a load of the new “warning labels” that our government has deemed appropriate to place on cigarette packages and tobacco advertisements? It’s like making your point with a howitzer.
Not satisfied to simply tax smokers out of existence, the feds have enlisted the help of the FDA (Food & Drug Administration) to overhaul the long-standing print warning labels which, have had little effect on curbing the smoking habit.
Apparently, believing that along with a host of other dangers, smoking causes illiteracy, the FDA has switched to visual aids, in the form of eye-popping and grisly graphics.
Seen any good autopsy photos lately? If not, you’re in luck. One of the ads features a deceased gentleman lying on a slab, with tell-tale autopsy stitches prominently displayed along his torso. The label bears the advice that “Smoking can kill you:” Well, autopsies will do a number on you, too.
Ever wonder what, exactly, a diseased lung looks like? Well, wonder no longer. “Cigarettes cause fatal lung disease,” the ad reminds us, accompanied by a “before and after” view of said lungs. Charming.
The other seven warning labels are equally gross and/or offensive.
While I don’t condone smoking, I certainly don’t condone this latest gambit from the anti-smoking crowd. Couldn’t they just settle on putting a skull and crossbones on the packaging?
In theory, these macabre images are supposed to be a “wake-up” call for smokers and a deterrent to those who may be tempted to take up the habit. It’s been done in other countries, we’ve been told.
What we haven’t been told, however, is that smokers in those other countries have already found a way around it. Simply placing a non-offensive sleeve over the original packaging pretty much eliminates the shock value.
So what next, given that this latest campaign may be doomed to failure? Perhaps we might go that one step further in our efforts to force good health and happiness on our smoking populace.
How about some of these extreme, but possibly effective, suggestions?
1. Exploding cigarette packs
Should the smoker ignore the warning label and actually open the pack, a cloud of blue dye would engulf their person. This has the added benefit of opening the doors for future anti-blue dye campaigns.
2. Audio-alarms
With modern technology, couldn’t we just slip a little audio reminder into each cigarette? A heat-activated sensor would trigger the message as soon as the smoker attempts to light up. “You don’t really want to do that, do you Steve?” our friendly warning system might offer. “Think of the consequences.”
3. Warning labels on Smokers
Forget the cigarette packs. Let’s force smokers to register and wear government-issue patches, identifying them as “Puffers.” We won’t tell them that these are actually “nicotine” patches designed to help "cure" them, ha, ha.
4. Charge a tax
Add a “pollution” tax to the price of cigarettes. This will discourage smoking and probably stop global-warming, which, as we all know, is caused by smokers.
5. Use disgusting images to heavy-handedly make the point that smoking is harmful
Oh, right, that’s already being done. Never mind.
Related Topics: Cigarettes, FDA, Michael McInnis, Smoking ads, smokers, and tongue in cheek
Bev
8:55 am on Wednesday, July 13, 2011
I smoked for 29 years. I thought I liked it. Went to Anne Penman Laswer Therapy in Dallas, TX and quit in one hour. Anne Penman Laser Therapy made it possible for me to put down the crutch of Nicotine Addiction and now I have a nice little cash savings account to atest to one of the immediate benefits of quitting. I hope the grisly ads work for those that don't read. For those that do, I hope they will consider the Low Level Laser Light Therapy. Worked for me.
Joan Panek
9:20 am on Friday, July 15, 2011
I love the fact that you have used "tongue in cheek" as one of your tags for related topics. So apt for a (humorous?) discussion of smoking. I was the only member of my family who didn't smoke. My father had mouth and throat cancer, my brother and mother had cancer. The whole time I was growing up, everything in our house reeked of cigaret smoke : the furniture, the books, any mail they sent, my clothes, my hair! While previous efforts to induce people to stop smoking have cut down on the number of smokers, this last-ditch effort by the government might be a desperate move, I guess. Members of my family managed to suck up a lot of the health care system before dying of smoking related cancers. Smoking costs money and lives. While you certainly have the right to your opinion about cigaret pack labels, and smoking in general, I just see this particular blog entry as cutting too close to a very non-funny , too-prevalent outcome of smoking - death. So, it's humor was lost on me.
Old Scratch
10:14 am on Friday, July 15, 2011
If cigarette smokers would accept a waiver out of all group and state sponsored health care and pay fully the costs of their medical care for illnesses attributable to smoking, then I would have to say that attempts, whether by law or by embarrassment or by scaring with scaring pictures, should stop. However, that is not the way it works. A biker who rides without a helmet and suffers brain damage or a cigarette smoker who develops any one of the many attributable diseases expects to have his group insurance or government provided insurance cover in part or in full his health care costs. So, bluntly such activity represents a terrible social cost and anything that can be done to dissuade such activity is warranted!