Current Smoker Interview: His Personal Experience

Current Smoker Interview
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Current Smoker Interview
Tobacco marketing targets specific populations, cigarette advertisements have always used diverse approaches designed to appeal to specific market segments like the working class and young adult smokers. Media campaigns exclusively target these groups with multiple messages to curb smoking. Such campaigns have been perceived differently by many people. In one of the recent interviews I conduct to seek smokers’ views on the negative images of smoking in public announcements, provides an insightful perspective on media campaigns. The interview aimed at understanding the levels of effectiveness of anti-smoking advertisements and how smokers view these public campaigns.
I interviewed a young smoker, who felt that public announcements discriminated smokers. He presented his personal experience of the negativity faced by smokers. During the interview, some of the issues narrated including how media campaigns packed smokers as addicts an outcast. He gave an example of The American Legacy Foundation (ALF) truth campaign that targeted 12 -17 years old. The campaign used negative connotations to portray tobacco manufacturers as people who promote bad habits. For him, the media condemned tobacco manufacturers portraying them as greedy people. The campaigns did not see anything wrong with the government collecting huge taxes from these people. He believed that such campaigns were not educative, and could not motivate people to stop smoking.
During the interview, he wondered why heavily advertised cigarette brands are popular; this meant that many people are attracted to their advertisement despite the nationwide anti-smoking campaigns, painting negative images about the tobacco industry. The interviewee stated that he was not surprised to see teen magazines attract young readers who pay close attention to cigarette ads and are likely to become smokers.
Even though smoking prevention campaigns have changed tactics in passing anti-smoking messages to the public, moving away from long-term health effects to psychological approaches, not much has been achieved to encourage smokers to reconsider their decision. Using negative messages to discourage people from smoking was not effective. The interviewee further confirmed that young people are attracted to addictive products, he was not surprised that many young people smoked cigarette because they wanted to try out new things and explore life in general.
Naturally, he believed that young people are rebellious and do not want to lose control; therefore, they did not want to give up smoking. The interviewee stated how smokers are often stigmatized because they do possess some attributes or characteristics that convey acceptable social identities. He believed that setting aside smoking zones is one form of stigma because it excludes smokers from public places. The exclusion of smokers from public places and the depiction of smokers as addicts stigmatize those who smoke.
Negative images showing rotten teeth, diseased lungs, make smokers look like outcasts in public view. The interviewee recalled an incident where a non –smokers shouted at him in public to stop smoking. He rec...