So I found this article on The Onion a couple of days ago:
http://www.theonion.com/articles/fda-approves-putting-picture-of-trish-on-cigarette,26451/
Although it's obviously a joke... I honestly think this would help cut down on smoking. Anti-smoking campaigns always show you these nasty pictures of a chain-smoker's rotten lungs, people on life support, etc. Those images are pretty disturbing.
However, they are also useless, because they're not relatable.
Smokers feel great when they smoke. The nicotine makes them feel good physically, and they feel like they look cool and are more sociable with a lit cigarette in hand. They're not thinking about long-term consequences.
I think that to effectively fight tobacco, you gotta hit smokers where they'll actually feel it: in the short term. Looking like Trish is a reality that can happen after a few years of chain-smoking, and more importantly, it attacks the smoking image directly. Trish is the anti-Joe Camel. Instead of "smoking is cool," she says (in a thick Southern rasp) "Smokin'll do this to ya, hun." And I think people will listen, because we all know a Trish.
Props to The Onion for realizing something that has eluded virtually everyone else for decades.
