Public Health England (PHE) has launched a new UK anti-tobacco campaign highlighting ingredients in cigarettes and their impact on the body.

 

The new graphic campaign is designed to coincide with the traditional New Year resolutions at a time when PHE claims that two-thirds of UK smokers say they want to quit. But Forest – the Freedom Organisation for the Right to Enjoy Smoking Tobacco – has described the campaign as ‘rotten, poisonous and an abuse of public money’.

 

The PHE campaign also claims to tackle ‘common misconceptions around hand-rolled tobacco, or roll-ups’ which the organisers acknowledge has increased significantly. The PHE said: “In 1990, 18% of male smokers and 2% of female smokers said they smoked mainly hand-rolled cigarettes, but by 2013 this had risen to 40% for men and 23% for women.

 

“New figures show that half of smokers (49%) who only smoke roll-ups wrongly believe they are less harmful than manufactured cigarettes. In fact, hand-rolled cigarettes are at least as hazardous as any other type of cigarette.”

 

 

An example of one of the new campaign posters.

 

 

STRONG CAMPAIGN GRAPHICS

Professor Kevin Fenton, National Director for Health and Wellbeing for Public Health England, said: “Much of the harm caused by smoking doesn’t become obvious until middle age, but the invisible damage can start shockingly early, even by the late teens. The earlier a smoker quits the better, but quitting at any age can help reverse at least some of the damage.”

 

Describing its campaign, PHE says that digital and print billboards will feature a roll-up cigarette full of decaying tissue, whilst an online viral will see a father casually rolling up a cigarette formed of rotting human flesh. This will be joined by the ‘Mutations’ and ‘Toxic Cycle’ adverts used in previous campaigns.

 

PHE adds: “These campaigns have helped smoking rates in England fall to an all-time low this year of 18.4%, and Public Health England will be continuing to help any smoker wishing to make a quit attempt in 2015 with a range of free and proven support tools.”

 

For its part, pro-tobacco lobby Forest has attacked PHE’s ‘poisonous’ anti-smoking campaign. Simon Clark, Director of Forest, said: “There can’t be a sane adult in the United Kingdom who isn’t well aware of the health risks of smoking.

 

“What’s really poisonous is the way public health campaigners are constantly trying to scare and harass people with exaggerated claims and dubious statistics.

 

“Campaigns like this are an abuse of public money. Education has been replaced by shrill scaremongering that is often counter-productive because it’s human nature to switch off when you’re being nagged or shouted at on an almost daily basis.

 

“This is real life not a Hammer Horror film. If Public Health England wants to be effective they should engage with consumers, not try to scare them with rotten campaigns such as this.”