What if you saw an ad like this perfectly laminated underneath the countertop of a Giant Eagle? Would it bother you? Would you use it as a teaching tool for your children? Or would you simply go about your day unaffected by it?
Government control on smoking and tobacco products has often caused some controversial stir amongst smokers and non-smokers alike. But statistics show that smoking remains the number one cause of preventable deaths, its become clear that the government is not shying away from promoting the dangerous habit. Philadelphia Board of Health has one such proposition in mind. Placing images that show the harmful effects of smoking on retail countertops where the product is sold.
Medical groups generally like the idea, even if the promotions may appear graphic to younger children who may be shopping with their parents. "People need to be shown that these things are real," said Deborah P. Brown, president of the American Lung Association of the Mid-Atlantic. And it is partially true.
A lot of children are harped on by their parents from a young age about how harmful cigarettes and other tobacco products can be and sometimes they find it annoying. But what about a graphic of what happens to your lungs if you were to continue smoking? I think an image from someone other than a parental figure may cause children to avoid it. However, the propositional ads have received backlash not only from concerned parents, but also from retailers themselves.
Retailers fear that customers who do smoke will be so turned off by these ads that they will take their business elsewhere. And this is a possibility, especially if those customers do not care to quit smoking. But for a city like Philly, who additionally also holds the record for highest obesity rates in children, they will not give up on their city wide health campaign.
Now you may be thinking...how can they do this? What right do they have? Well it turns out this tactic was attempted nearly two years ago in New York, but it was turned down by a judge. So there is a chance that this proposition will be denied. And while this proposition still remains in draft form, the Philadelphia Health Board is determined to promote health within their communities whether or not this becomes a requirement of all tobacco retailers.
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I am a social smoker, but this ad would definitely prevent me from buying cigarettes at the counter of a store mainly because of the humiliation from the sales clerk and the other people in line.
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