I see that more than a billion people now are governed by laws requiring large, graphic warnings on cigarette packets warning of the dangers of smoking.
Is smoking dangerous? Oh my God! Thanks for telling me, I was born yesterday.
I have seen 4000 smokers now in my career as a Stop Smoking Therapist and never has a single one been forced to stop smoking because of graphic images.
If you smoke and you are constantly reminded of what smoking does to you, it makes you anxious, insecure. What does that make you want to do?
SMOKE SOME MORE!!
That's the nature of the addiction. In addition to this, the more intelligent people are cajoled into doing something, the less likely they are to do it. That's the nature of mankind.
Addiction and the human psyche are very complex issues and you can't change someone's perception with a sledgehammer.
If you want to help someone stop smoking, make sure they WANT to quit first, and then show them that any pleasures they perceive from smoking are illusions based on the fact that they are suffering a drug addiction.
You can run as fast as you like, but if you are on the wrong road all it will do is get you further from where you want to be.
