I am a lifelong non-smoker, and I am extremely sensitive to cigarettes and their smoke. My mother smoked a pack a day, so I was exposed to 2nd hand smoke all through my childhood, then when I got older, I still had to deal with many of my friends who were smokers. And don't forget, restaurants, bars, clubs all had smoking. (Yes, restaurants had " smoking sections". But a smoking section in a restaurant is like a peeing section in a pool.) I will run on the street to get upwind of a smoker, because the smell alone is enough to make me wheeze. Perhaps these ads are effective, I hope they are because they are very unpleasant....and I'm not sure whether they will have the desired effect on the 12-15 year olds- that seems to be the group most likely to start smoking. I remember years ago, when I taught a health class instead of my usual bio, the smokers knew all details about the dangers of smoking. When I gave the test on the topic, the non-smokers did poorly...but the smokers all got 90's. In some cases their only good test grade of the term. What I think has actually been most effective is the change in attitude towards smoking...when kids see smokers all having to stand clustered on the street instead of inside having a meal or working at their job, smokers come off as losers, not cool. I have definitely seen much less smoking in my 9th graders in the last few years, less than I have ever seen in my life.
