Put it out, before it puts you out.
Smoking is one of the most detrimental things a person can do to their health. Many people smoke cigarettes for a variety of reasons such as seeing your parents or someone in our family do it, just plain curiosity and temptation, or being pressured by your peers such as some friends from school. Nevertheless there are a plethora of factors that can play into someone getting the habit of smoking but the one thing that remains the same is the impending dangers of smoking to both your lungs and your whole body in general. The dangers of smoking could lead to health risks such as Cancer, Cardiovascular disease, Respiratory disease, and ultimately death. The reason I have strong opinions of this subject matter is because my own grandfather had died when I was very young do to lung cancer but there wasn’t as much information and knowledge on this subject back then. With all the knowledge we know now due to the advancement of science and medicine, it is surprising why people today would even think about smoking when they’d only be hurting themselves and those around them.
CDC.gov
Smoking is the leading cause of death that can be prevented in the whole United States. One program that helps to raise awareness to the dangers caused by smoking is the CDC or Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. According to the CDC “Cigarette smoking causes more than 480,000 deaths each year in the United States. This is about one in five deaths.” They go on to say how the deaths caused by smoking is more than HIV, Illegal Drug use, Alcohol use, Vehicle injuries, and gun related injuries combined. The numbers themselves show you how dangerous smoking cigarettes can be. The problem is that people don’t bother going to these websites to read this information. The ethos of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website is high because of the fact that its run by the government. The Pathos of the website relies mostly on fear. They use fear to show the people how many diseases smoking can cause to your body and the detriment it will cause to your life. They persuade with logos by showing the specific numbers and percentages of the deaths cause by smoking and all the other diseases that smoking can cause to your body. They give links on the website leading to affiliated sites that are there to help people try to quit smoking along with a hotline which people can call to get help to quit smoking. Though the visual appeal isn’t as vibrant as a person would like, it uses some pictures and diagrams to show what dangers can be caused through smoking. They also have a Facebook, Twitter, YouTube channel directly associated with the site to allow a more accessible to a younger audience who are more integrated with Social media. Through their website and social media affiliates they can not only reach their adult audience but also their younger predominantly teen audience to try to send their message.
Above is a video from the CDC to help raise awareness about the damages of smoking told by a former smoker himself.
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Below is Ogilvy Thailand’s Anti-Smoking Public Service Announcement and has been regarded by many to be the most effective anti-cigarette ad ever.
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Smoking even one cigarette can hurt your body but even if you do smoke you might feel like quitting will make any difference at that point, but that isn’t true. When you quit smoking, it not only lowers your risk for smoking related diseases but it can also add years to your life you would have lost if you had continued to smoke. These websites help people to be more aware of the dangers smoking can cause and might help how to try to quit smoking but if the people around you who care about you don’t speak up their only hurting that person further. People shouldn’t be ashamed or feel offended to tell someone they care about to quit smoking. Not helping that person today could potentially kill them tomorrow, so don’t take the chance. Speak up and create awareness, starting with the people you care about, help make them more aware about the dangers that they are causing to themselves and the people they care about and you could be saving multiple lives.
Credits to:
Right Image: http://katego.deviantart.com/art/smoking-kills-ad-25245981
Smoking Tip Video: http://www.youtube.com/user/CDCStreamingHealth
Bottom Left Video: http://www.youtube.com/user/Ogilvy
Right Image: http://katego.deviantart.com/art/smoking-kills-ad-25245981
Smoking Tip Video: http://www.youtube.com/user/CDCStreamingHealth
Bottom Left Video: http://www.youtube.com/user/Ogilvy