| It is hard to quit smoking. This is because the smoker | | | | When World War 1 came along, the tobacco |
| has built a powerful Psychological Smoking Mechanism | | | | companies gave "free" cigarettes to the soldiers. After |
| from an early age and reinforces it with every | | | | the war, hundreds of thousands of new smokers, |
| cigarette. This article looks are some elements of this | | | | heroes, returned to America and the youth of the |
| mechanism. It is very, very hard to simply quit smoking. | | | | nation had a new role model for smoking. |
| This is because the smoker has built a Psychological | | | | Around the time of World War 1 ending, the new |
| Smoking Mechanism from an early age and reinforces | | | | medium of radio came on the scene and the first |
| it with every cigarette. You see, it takes great WILL | | | | major advertisers were the tobacco companies. |
| POWER to smoke each cigarette. The WILL POWER | | | | When you added this with all the newly minted |
| is generated by this mechanism which is maintained by | | | | smokers from the war, cigarette use skyrocketed! |
| beliefs. | | | | Celebrity Endorsements |
| They consist of Why I Started Smoking and Why I | | | | Young people have always admired celebrities |
| Continue to Smoke beliefs. Both of these categories | | | | whether it was sports or entertainment. The tobacco |
| of beliefs support each other and need to be explored | | | | companies were quick to jump on the celebrity |
| extensively. | | | | endorsement bandwagon. |
| Why I Started Smoking | | | | Young people started smoking particular brands |
| It is necessary to go back to the beginning and | | | | because their favorite sports figure or movie star |
| examine the reasons a smoker started. However, for | | | | pitched them. Cigarette consumption kept going up and |
| most people this has been in excess of 20 years and | | | | up. |
| long since forgotten. I was being interviewed by a radio | | | | Humphrey Bogart made a cigarette dangling from his |
| host the other day who had, with great difficulty, | | | | lips a cultural icon. |
| become an ex-smoker after two years of struggle. I | | | | When television made it's appearance in 1946, again |
| asked him why he had started smoking and because it | | | | the tobacco companies were the prime source of |
| had been so long ago, he couldn't remember much | | | | advertising and funding for programs. People today |
| about it. This is common for smokers. So, it is | | | | would be either shocked or amused with the TV |
| necessary to use special psychological techniques to | | | | commercials for cigarettes that appeared throughout |
| bring these memories back and neutralize them. With | | | | the 1940s-1960s. Cigarette consumption was at it's |
| each belief examined and eliminated as a support to | | | | peak in 1964 at 44% of the population when the |
| the WILL POWER to smoke, the mechanism | | | | Surgeon General issued the first warning about the |
| becomes weaker. | | | | dangers of smoking cigarettes. |
| The Mind of the Child | | | | It got to that level from advertising. Jingles, slogans, |
| The average age when a smoker begins is around 15. | | | | celebrity endorsements, and other means convinced |
| Some start even earlier. As adults, we tend to forget | | | | young people to smoke. |
| how we viewed the world at this time of our lives. It | | | | It Worked |
| made sense to us then but wouldn't to our adult mind | | | | Almost half the citizens of the United States were |
| today. | | | | smokers! Obviously the advertising worked. Even |
| As teenagers, everything is a new and intense | | | | women were specifically targeted by having their |
| experience. We are susceptible to advertising | | | | "own" cigarette. That worked too. When I was |
| messages. Because of this, advertising today is | | | | growing up, many of the women smokers I saw were |
| regulated to avoid unduly influencing children however it | | | | smoking "women's" cigarettes. |
| wasn't always so. For many decades, the tobacco | | | | To stop the unfair influence of young people to smoke |
| companies carried out a very effective advertising | | | | via advertising, eventually cigarette advertising was |
| campaign that influenced young people to smoke. | | | | banned in broadcast media in the early 1970s. But then |
| When smokers explore the reasons they started | | | | it just switched to more billboards, signs, posters, full |
| smoking cigarettes, they usually find that advertising | | | | page magazine ads etc. It didn't go away and |
| played a big role. | | | | continued to influence young people with it's message. |
| Advertising to Influence Young People Started in the | | | | When people examine Why They Started Smoking |
| 1880's | | | | with special psychological techniques, they are usually |
| When I was a kid, baseball cards were really popular. | | | | surprised to find out just how influenced they were by |
| They came in bubble gum packs and sold a lot of | | | | cigarette advertisements. But that's what they were |
| bubble gum. Football cards were eventually added so | | | | designed to do and why cigarette advertisements in |
| they become sports cards. I can remember my friends | | | | broadcast media were eventually banned. |
| and me buying new packs and trading to get the | | | | Exploring the reasons why you started smoking and |
| cards we were missing in our collection. But baseball | | | | removing them is the first step to eliminating cigarettes |
| cards didn't start with bubble gum! | | | | from your life permanently and easily. By removing the |
| In the 1880s and through the early 1900s, baseball | | | | Psychological Smoking Mechanism, you will again |
| cards came in cigarette packs! All the star players, kids | | | | become a nonsmoker. |
| favorites had a card. This made cigarettes attractive | | | | In future articles I will discuss other reasons people |
| to young people. To get more cards, you had to buy | | | | started smoking that keep them smoking, making it |
| more cigarettes. And you certainly didn't want to | | | | hard to quit. |
| waste the purchase so the cigarettes got used. | | | | © Copyright 2009, R. |
| Wide scale Promotion of Cigarettes | | | | |
