Picture of health
Friday, February 1, 2013 at 9:22 
The Irish Government yesterday marked the introduction of graphic health warnings by releasing this scary photograph.
The person on the right (looking less than a picture of health) is – you guessed – Minister for Health Dr James Reilly.
The Department of Health also took the opportunity to tell people that:
According to the World Health Organisation, in Canada the introduction of photo images on cigarette packs resulted in a fourfold increase in smoker’s intentions to quit.
In other words, there is no evidence that smokers in Canada did quit as a result of picture warnings, merely that there was a reported increase in their "intention" to quit.
According to the DoH:
The introduction of these warnings builds on other legislative measures taken to date in relation to tobacco including the ban in 2009 of the display and advertising of tobacco products in retail units.
It is anticipated that these particular measures will have a positive impact on reducing the numbers of young people starting to smoke.
Anticipated? A display ban was introduced in Ireland four years ago. As in Canada there seems to be no evidence that it has had any effect on the number of people smoking (young or old) but, don't worry, the government anticipates that it will. Er, eventually.
Reader Comments (11)
No need to waste more money with pictures of rotting lungs and teeth on packs
Just put a photo of the overweight Reilly with his beard attempting to cover up his bad skin problem instead and I guarantee the kids will go running scared.
Its hard to credit that the honorable gentleman is responsible for the health of the populace at large when you try to reconcile it with the state of the health service in Ireland.
But like most of the politicos in Ireland nowadays who have got a taste for EU back slapping and have developed a longing for the world stage, its depressing to see individuals like himself doing camera shoots designed with the sole purpose to shock and sicken us about such trivial tripe when 80,000 people cancelled private insurance last year and 1200 now cancel per week.
It is sad that these people feel that it is absolutely OK to widely distribute images that would under any other circumstances be subject to age restrictions. Their feeble reasoning and the deliberate deception that they use to justify their actions is unfortunately typical. I feel that history will not remember the era in which we currently live with any great fondness.
Why are they always fat?
I think one complaint to the Irish ASA will get rid of the teeth picture and I hope they paid the gentleman of the road for his modelling opportunity.
According to the World Health Organisation, in Canada the introduction of photo images on cigarette packs resulted in a fourfold increase in smoker’s intentions to quit.
They claimed that 70% wanted to give up before. So that's presumably 280% now.
They claimed that 70% wanted to give up before. So that's presumably 280% now.
Ha! That's lovely, Tony. Thanks matey, that provided a good chuckle!
Good Lord, they are just so full of shit they can't keep up with themselves! Oh what a tangled web we weave etc.
I can see the cigarette pack outer sleeve business is going to be one to invest in now in Ireland. I wonder if that Aussie bloke is going to open up a supply depot there? He seems to be doing quite well in Aus.
There is a principle in psychology developed by Ernest Becker called 'Terror Management.' The basic theory is that “.. all human action is taken to ignore or avoid the inevitability of death.” Jerry Fink says, "When presented with the threat of mortality, teens and young adults who already smoke may become more entrenched in their smoking habits in an attempt to bolster their fragile and developing sense of self.” The paper itself says, "Results suggest that to the degree that smoking is a source of self-esteem, later attitudes towards smoking become more positive if the warning message is mortality-salient."
More here.
http://www.thecommentator.com/article/973/more_government_interference_why_plain_tobacco_packets_are_plain_nonsense
I expect they are proud of this, their latest attack on smokers. Wait until fat people are targetted, they won't be smiling then.
The pictures used in all European countries are from a set provided under license by the EU.
And don't let them fool you: smoking doesn't blacken the lungs. Lungs of a smoker are indistinguishable from the lungs of a nonsmoker, even in an autopsy.
I wonder if the photos are 1. incontovertibly of smokers and 2. unambiguously and exclusively the result of smoking. If not, I would think there could be some kind of "truth in advertising" legal challenge.
It's strange that they have used the same pictures for donkey's years. No one has a moustache like that any more! Those propaganda pictures have been around since the 70's. You would think that they could have found some more modern victims by now given how many smokers are apparently dying all time.