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07/04/2005: If you want to get their attention, hit 'em where it hurts....
The Brits are trying a new strategy in efforts to discourage smoking: British government goes after smokers' sex lives
LONDON (Reuters) - The British government launched a series of tough anti-cigarette adverts on Friday with the message that smoking is bad for your sex life because it makes men impotent and women ugly.Of course, this isn't a new strategy; I remember mid-to-late '80s anti-smoking ads in the U.S. featuring Brooke Shields (back when she was considered an icon of smoldering female sexuality) suggesting that she'd never do the horizontal mambo with a smoker because "Smoking stinks"....
The campaign is designed to target young Britons' fears about their sexual attractiveness -- an area the government says is more effective than highlighting general health concerns.
One ad uses a burning cigarette end between two "fingerlegs" as a metaphor for a penis with the strapline "Does smoking make you hard? Not if it means you can't get it up."
Another targets women saying cigarettes lead to premature skin aging and warns that smoking causes "cat's bum mouth."
But that does suggest something to me... If this news filters into the consciousness of the Religious Right and their allies in the GOP, can we expect to see a pro-smoking push by the conservative wing of Our Only Party? Think of the constituencies that this tactic might appeal to. Of course, the values conservatives would go for anything that might have the effect of rendering teens and young adults sexually unappealing, and which dampens sexual desire and performance in those typically hot and horny age groups. Meanwhile, pro-business interests (particularly the Big Tobacco Lobby) would be gratified by the obvious economic benefits of a turnaround in attitudes towards tobacco. And of course the health-care and pharmaceutical industries would be happy to suck away our remaining dollars (well, those of us who are still insured or can afford health-care and drugs by the time they're through robbing us blind) providing treatment for our cancer and emphysema.
This is such a winner I'm surprised it hasn't been attempted yet. Maybe I should try to copyright or patent the idea, and get some royalties when it happens....
Len on 07.04.05 @ 07:40 AM CST
