Why cigarette packs matter
badscience.net
Why cigarette packs matter
1–10 of 38 posts
Re: Why cigarette packs matter
#2Australia is great in regards to cigarettes. On all packets, it shows gruesome images of what happens to you if you smoke, all labels are black with a standardised white text, so no brand recognition. They're all behind a blacked out cabinet too.
See: http://www.google.com.au/images?q=australian+cigarette+packa...
Re: Why cigarette packs matter
#3Nice to see ben goldacre's writings up on here. He is a clinical epistemologist by training but he has rapidly moved into the world of science journalism (or perhaps meta-journalism) due to his popularity as a writer and speaker.
Re: Why cigarette packs matter
#4Nice to see ben goldacre's writings up on here. He is a clinical epistemologist by training but he has rapidly moved into the world of science journalism (or perhaps meta-journalism) due to his popularity as a writer and speaker.
He also has a secondary blog where he posts "things that are too long to post on twitter and not clever enough to post on his main blog": http://bengoldacre.posterous.com/
Re: Why cigarette packs matter
#5Australia is great in regards to cigarettes. On all packets, it shows gruesome images of what happens to you if you smoke, all labels are black with a standardised white text, so no brand recognition. They're all behind a blacked out cabinet too. See: http://www.google.com.au/images?q=australian+cigarette+packa...
Man, you would think that almost ghoulish imagery in the URL you posted would keep people from buying cigarettes, but I imagine people still buy them in droves nonetheless. I like that at least the Australian government doesn't cave to the Tobacco companies.
Re: Why cigarette packs matter
#6Australia is great in regards to cigarettes. On all packets, it shows gruesome images of what happens to you if you smoke, all labels are black with a standardised white text, so no brand recognition. They're all behind a blacked out cabinet too. See: http://www.google.com.au/images?q=australian+cigarette+packa...
On all packets, it shows gruesome images of what happens to you if you smoke
Which I believe does more harm than good. I know plenty of smokers who get through a pack a day; do you think this is more likely to inform smokers about health risks that they're not already aware of, or is it more likely to desensitise them to these risks?
I'm also curious to know who behind this plan doesn't remember being a 10-year-old and being fascinated by everything disgusting.
Re: Why cigarette packs matter
#7Australia is great in regards to cigarettes. On all packets, it shows gruesome images of what happens to you if you smoke, all labels are black with a standardised white text, so no brand recognition. They're all behind a blacked out cabinet too. See: http://www.google.com.au/images?q=australian+cigarette+packa...
Man, you would think that almost ghoulish imagery in the URL you posted would keep people from buying cigarettes, but I imagine people still buy them in droves nonetheless. I like that at least the Australian government doesn't cave to the Tobacco companies.
Addiction’s a bitch. I don’t smoke but I tend to eat too much with predictable consequences I know full well about. It is possible for me to keep my eating in control (I have for nearly six months now and am very proud of that) but that demands tons of strong, strong, strong willpower. It’s exhausting and I will have to keep that will strong for the rest of my life.
Re: Why cigarette packs matter
#8Australia is great in regards to cigarettes. On all packets, it shows gruesome images of what happens to you if you smoke, all labels are black with a standardised white text, so no brand recognition. They're all behind a blacked out cabinet too. See: http://www.google.com.au/images?q=australian+cigarette+packa...
Man, you would think that almost ghoulish imagery in the URL you posted would keep people from buying cigarettes, but I imagine people still buy them in droves nonetheless. I like that at least the Australian government doesn't cave to the Tobacco companies.
I don't smoke, but I don't think that imagery would stop me buying cigarettes if I did. I know how horrific the potential consequences of riding a motorcycle or driving a car look, but I still do that. The insides of even a relatively healthy old person won't look particularly pleasant either.
The fact is, people will be aware that not everyone who smokes ends up looking like those images, which will help them ignore them; "It'll never happen to me", regardless of how likely it actually is.
Re: Why cigarette packs matter
#9Australia is great in regards to cigarettes. On all packets, it shows gruesome images of what happens to you if you smoke, all labels are black with a standardised white text, so no brand recognition. They're all behind a blacked out cabinet too. See: http://www.google.com.au/images?q=australian+cigarette+packa...
On all packets, it shows gruesome images of what happens to you if you smoke Which I believe does more harm than good. I know plenty of smokers who get through a pack a day; do you think this is more likely to inform smokers about health risks that they're not already aware of, or is it more likely to desensitise them to these risks? I'm also curious to know who behind this plan doesn't remember being a 10-year-old a…
The entry point for new smokers is a little older than 10. I think it's more like the early teen years. At that point, I think the "gruesome is cool" phase has abated a bit. Besides, the attraction towards gruesome has to war with young people's preference for sweet tastes. There is nothing sweet about the smell of cigarette smoke. It's incredibly bitter and acrid smelling. The smell was one major reason I never tried tobacco despite both my parents being smokers.
To catch young people in their market, I think tobacco companies focus more on teens' need for social belonging and defining their identity.
Re: Why cigarette packs matter
#10Earlier quoted context omitted.
On all packets, it shows gruesome images of what happens to you if you smoke Which I believe does more harm than good. I know plenty of smokers who get through a pack a day; do you think this is more likely to inform smokers about health risks that they're not already aware of, or is it more likely to desensitise them to these risks? I'm also curious to know who behind this plan doesn't remember being a 10-year-old a…
The entry point for new smokers is a little older than 10. I think it's more like the early teen years. At that point, I think the "gruesome is cool" phase has abated a bit. Besides, the attraction towards gruesome has to war with young people's preference for sweet tastes. There is nothing sweet about the smell of cigarette smoke. It's incredibly bitter and acrid smelling. The smell was one major reason I never trie…
As someone who used to smoke "Black Death" cigarettes, I'm inclined to disagree. Perhaps they should put Goatse on each pack, and then people wouldn't be inclined to carry the packs around.