In this week’s edition of T and A, I would like to discuss a topic that has irked me for quite some time now.
I am sure that the majority of you have seen “The Truth” ads on television or in magazines. For those who do not know, this ad campaign poses the question “What if tobacco ads told the truth about cigarettes?”
For example, in one of the commercials, several trucks park in front of a major tobacco company’s headquarters.
A small group of young people, probably in their early to mid-twenties, proceed to unload the truck’s cargo: body bags. They pile several thousand of these body bags in front of the building.
Each body bag represents someone who dies each year due to a smoking-related illness.
Now I understand that underage/teen smoking is a problem. I am not going to deny that statistics show teen smoking is on the rise. I am not going to discredit what the ads are claiming either.
The debate over whether or not “big tobacco” is marketing to teens is not the issue I am pressing.
I just want to know why the voice of anti-smoking is shouting loud and clear, yet the voices of anti-drinking and anti-drug use are almost silent.
I was recently watching a program on television. During each commercial break one or two anti-smoking ads were aired. Throughout the course of the two-hour time slot, I counted at least seven of these ads.
However, not one anti-drinking ad was shown, even though one of the main characters on the program was shown guzzling several beers.
What kind of message is being sent here? Smoking is bad, but binging beer is ok?
It is sad that our media is flooded with anti-smoking ads, yet there is a virtual absence of anti-drug or anti-drinking campaigns.
Occasionally, you will see Brett Michaels of Poison giving a promo for RADD.
Then of course there are the “My anti-drug is. . . ” commercials that air around three or four times a week.
Are drugs and alcohol no longer a problem among teens?
Please do not misconstrue what I am about to say. We know that private organizations fund The Truth and “Tobacco is Wacko” campaigns.
Why are they focusing their attention so heavily on cigarettes and seemingly ignoring drugs and alcohol?
When is the last time you heard about someone smoking a pack of cigarettes, then getting behind the wheel and causing an accident? Or someone who chokes on his or her own vomit after binge smoking? Or maybe there was someone who went on a “bad trip” and never returned after smoking a cigarette?
Of course you never hear about any of these. However, images of serious injuries or even deaths due to drunk driving, binge drinking or drug abuse are flashed before our eyes on a daily basis.
I know that none of us are ignorant to the fact that drug and alcohol abuse is still a problem in our society.
It is a problem that needs to be addressed.
Leaving this as an issue for the parents to address is not going to work. And the “drugs and alcohol are bad, OK” approach will not work either.
My suggestion is to use a similar approach to “The Truth.” Even if “Big Booze” is a large contributor to political campaigns and a major sports sponsor, teens deserve to know the truth about alcohol and drugs.
These anti-smoking campaigns have the potential to do more than deal with the issue of teen smoking. They try to remove the facade of “smoking is cool” that you see in almost every ad.
The same concepts can be applied to anti-drinking and anti-drug ads as well. Images of the reality of alcohol and drug abuse can have a major impact and the youth of America will listen.
So, “Truth,” if you are going to tell teens the truth about their vices, do not just give only part of the truth. Give them the whole truth.
Oh, and do not show a hundred anti-smoking ads in one day, either.
It would drive anyone to smoke!

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