We've all seen them. Those petrifying cigarette commercials showing the damaging impacts of smoking cigarettes. I've lost count of how many times I had to abandon the T.V. to avoid watching them. Here are the top reasons why I strongly believe these type of commercials need to be banned.
1. Think of The Children
Do we really want kids to be exposed to such graphic images? I know I would not want my children viewing these lurid advertisements. Childhood should be a time of pure innocence and happiness. Why should they have to witness such awful images that they won’t even be able to understand? If I am 22 years old and getting disturbed, I can’t begin to envision how a child feels.
2. Over Exaggerated
We all understand the side effects of smoking cigarettes. We learned all about them starting in elementary school up until high school. It is not necessary to amplify the consequences of cigarette smoking, especially during our much-needed leisure time. Instead of resorting to gruesome images, there are plenty of other ways to get the message across. Presenting statistics, interviewing former smokers, conversing about personal experiences would all be more beneficial. Viewers would actually watch and comprehend the message of the commercial without getting distraught.
3. Undeniably Atrocious
Disgust is an understatement of how I feel watching these commercials. It is appalling to be watching T.V. and then out of the clear blue observe a guy yanking teeth out of his mouth. Or a girl confiscating the skin off her entire face. It has come to the point that I must switch channels to avoid gagging and getting a stomach ache. Why are we showing dismaying R-rated scenarios on a T.V. advertisement? I just can't grasp why we are resorting to incorporating revolting images to get a message across.
4. Ineffective
There are other rational and less explicit ways of getting the damaging effects of cigarettes across. Showing disgusting images of a man pulling his teeth out and a woman peeling her skin off is not the way to do it. This does nothing but make T.V. viewers squirm and cringe in pure repulsion
