America's Smoke Screen-Portion Essays

Tobacco ads have stood out to me from a young age, I was used to seeing cigarette ads in every magazine and street corner. When I was 11 I joined a tobacco advocacy group, I wanted to inform young people my age about the dangers of tobacco but mostly I joined because they paid me. I found these two ads and I remembered sitting in an empty classroom analyzing tobacco ads and discussing how they appeal to us. I found two ads, both from the most recent issue of a popular celebrity gossip magazine. The first major difference one notices is that of the ads is catered to a completely different audience. Blu E-cigarettes cater to the new age of tobacco consumers. While Newport menthol cigarettes are tried and tested, a classic. The major differences in this ad make it difficult to pick which one is most effective at getting more buyers of their product. Newport’s ad is

1950s’ America was a society that is often described as “booming”. After our glorious victory in World War II, there was no better time to be an American. The economy of the country was booming, suburbs were being built at an unparalleled rate, and our country was in the middle of the famous, considered by some to be infamous, baby boom. America was unarguably on the rise. One famous symbol of this patriotic time in our history was the cigarette. In the 50s cigarettes did not have nearly as bad as a connotation associated with them. In fact, cigarettes were the epitome of symbols that represented the lifestyle of the rich and famous, or some seemingly unachievable level of societal excellence. During this period, it would be almost impossible to find some of Hollywood’s elite without a cigarette in hand. Also, it is worth noting that during this period, cigarettes were much cheaper to buy than today, even considering shifts in inflation. In the year 1949, with possible threats of scientific research exposing the danger of cigarettes, Camel Cigarettes released an infamous commercial that provides us as viewers today a glimpse of the hold cigarettes had on society in the time period.

Usually, on television shows or on magazine articles there has to be an advertisement promoting cigarettes. Not only does the tobacco industry encourage teenagers to start smoking, but it enforces smoking to continue well on into their adulthood.

Cigarette companies joined forces with Hollywood to make cool smoking characters. Who can forget James Bond (Sean Connery) with a cigarette dangling casually out the corner of his mouth, undisturbed by all manner of physical violence, as was his hair!

After finding out the effects of propaganda on the populous big tobacco companies spared no time before launching their own waves of propaganda promoting their cigarettes. As stated by Stanford School of Medicine, as early as the 1930s companies had already begun to release posters of venerated American heroes such as doctors, soldiers, even at one point presidents in order to reintroduce the trend of smoking as a cool trait the public could share with celebrities and heroes (Stanford

Cigarettes have often been viewed as a horrible product that can cause many health problems such as cancer, emphysema, and heart disease. The act of advertising smoking in a positive manner on TV is illegal in today’s society. We have learned the true effect of how smoking affects your body, yet with all these known facts about smoking many people still choose to smoke. Smoking has not always been portrayed as a negative act. Around the early to late 1950’s there were many ads that showed only positive things about smoking. The two ads shown below portray the message that if you smoke you will be happy and with so many people smoking during the 1950’s it was hard not to see how smoking wouldn’t cause positive emotions; furthermore, with the convenient packaging it was easy to have a smoke almost everywhere you went. These two cigarette companies produced ads that proclaimed to have cigarettes that were good for your throat. With people not knowing the harsh effects of smoking as we do now, they

Today in American society the social normality of smoking cigarettes is in a rapid decline. It seems with each passing year there are increasing numbers of legislation restricting where people can place advertisement and where smoking is even permitted. Smoking cigarettes for many years was a focal point in American culture projecting the image of this prosperous social status obtainable for everyone. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, the creators of the “Newport Pleasure!” Advertisement heavily takes this progressive movement into consideration when creating the illusion that smoking is socially accepted. The R.J Reynolds Tobacco Company’s advertising campaign connects the use of logos and pathos extremely and effectively displaying their message. In order to recreate the social normality of smoking advertisers select a wide range of healthy-socially-active youth, place a campaign slogan that their consumers are unable to miss, and heavily doctor the focal elements of this advertisement.

For me growing up in central Illinois, tobacco was as much a part of life as were the cornfields we were trapped in by. My father for as long as I can remember chewed tobacco, so naturally I followed suit. Once I started drinking (and particularly in the Navy) everyone was smoking, so yet again naturally I followed along. Like a helpless little sheep I followed the crowd. It does not take much to persuade young adults that something is not only not bad for them, but they will look like a total and full fledged badass in the process. Tobacco for example, and more specifically cigarettes. Winston in their ad in an issue of “Field and Stream Magazine” published in September of 2017 is no exception. The tobacco giant is extremely persuasive in

Censorship plays a significant role in molding the lives of United States citizens. From banned book lists to cutting out profanity in television programs, censorship shields Americans from materials which are deemed insolent or inappropriate. According to public health and medical agencies, movies should be censored with an adult-rating if they contain smoking scenes because they negatively influence teenagers to start smoking. While many medical agencies and concerned mothers support the proposal, researchers Simon Chapman and Matthew C. Farrelly refute the proposal. In “Four Arguments Against the Adult-Rating of Movies with Smoking Scenes" for the Public Library of Science, Chapman and Farrelly argue against the use of adult-rated ratings for smoking scenes due to the negligible impact smoking scenes play on a teenager’s life. The authors implement rhetorical appeals and use numerous sources, convincing studies, and their own knowledgeable background on tobacco to validate their credibility and strengthen their argument.

Before the health risks were discovered, in the 1960's, the glamorization of smoking by hollywood began and as a result, by

This problem of creating a trendy stylish image of cigarettes are hurting many people by recruiting new young smokers from all around the world, winning over sales due to the false image and then addiction. Third world countries are hurt the most by this unethical way of advertising because they don’t have money for this extra expense that they now need due to addiction. Critics claim that sophisticated promotions in a unsophisticated societies entice people who cannot afford the necessities of life to spend money on luxury- and a dangerous one at that. Every cigarette manufacturer is in the image business, and tobacco companies say their promotional slant is both reasonable and common. They point out that in the Third World a lot of people cannot understand what is written in the ads anyway, so the ads zero in on the more understandable visual image. Due to actions such as this and the negative effect it has on people economically and physically, this is a good example of how the tobacco industry is unethical.

Smoking tobacco has been a part of American culture since its very conception. Throughout our history, tobacco has been advertised as a simple pleasure for those who seek it out. Whether you are sitting on the porch with a couple of friends or in a dimly lit jazz club, tobacco ads give off a false sense of comfort, power, and success. Until around the mid-1900’s, smoking cigarettes was not considered unhealthy. It was only later that the public realize the detrimental health consequences that came with smoking tobacco. To spread this information, specific advertisements were aired to help inform the public of the dangers of smoking. While these ads have changed over time, the same message and warning still remains evident.

Grease has to be one of the most iconic movies of the 80’s. With its PG rating, it has been enjoyed by family and children for decades. Grease was able to captivate the imaginations of many people with its nostalgic singing and dancing along with its beloved story line of romance. However, it also left a lasting impression on youth when its favorite characters succumbed to peer pressure and began partaking in smoking cigarettes to fit in with the crowd, which leads to the question, “should big tobacco be allowed to influence people in the form of motion pictures viewed by cinema fans of all ages”? Smoking in movies is not merely a trend from the 80’s; rather, smoking continues to be used as a nostalgic centerpiece of defining emotions and as a stress reliever in many modern films. With modern culture becoming so fixated on improving the quality of health and lowering insurance premiums, it may be time to reconsider featuring it in films. Conversely, there are some who petition that smoking in movies is a form of freedom of speech and expression, as well as arguing that the banning of smoking in movies will lead to a slippery slope of other bans. However, despite their arguments, continuing to allow smoking in cinema productions should be banned in future productions regardless of their rating because children view these actors as role models, smoking has severe health effects, children have access to all ratings of movies now, and there is a direct correlation between

In the modern world, it is apparent to all that smoking cigarettes is hazardous to one’s health. In response, many activist corporations have established campaigns rebuking the use of cigarettes. Recently, some of these corporations have been pushing at the Motion Picture Association of America for censorship of cigarette smoking. The goal set in mind for the campaigns is the rating for movies that contain cigarette smoking to be upgraded to a restricted rating, meaning children under 17 must be accompanied by a guardian in order to attend the film. I declare that if the Motion Picture Association of America adopted the notion of restricting films with smoking, the film world would be losing emotional impact while gaining an oversaturated perception of sensitivity. In addition, the MPAA should not restrict smoking in films due to its probable ineptitude of preventing smoking and the normality of cigarettes in society.

At the same time, tobacco was listed in U.S. Pharmacopoeia, the government’s official list of drug (Gene Borio), but it was removed as the tobacco state legislators were bribed. Not until the dangerous effects of tobacco use become more noticeable did people realize that it was hard to quit consuming the cancerous substance, and the government made many efforts in an attempt to reduce tobacco consumption. In 1906, U.S. Justice Department was against the American Tobacco Company, the second-largest corporation in the United States, by filing charges anti-trust (Gene Borio). Not giving up, cigarette companies tried to get more loyal customers by sending millions of free cigarettes to the troops during World War I, getting more soldiers to smoke and be addicted so when they came home, they will have to buy cigarettes. Despite the increase of more researches that prove the fact tobacco worsens people’s health, cigarette companies still deny it, while promoting “healthier” choices of tobacco products such as added filter and less toxic ingredients. After Congress passed the Federal Cigarette Labelling and Advertising Act, surgeon general’s health warnings appear on cigarette packages by 1966 (Gene Borio). Federal Communications Commission also required one anti-tobacco advertisement for every three tobacco advertisements, called TV fairness