Smoking cessation by story

The power of story is now being used in anti-smoking advertisements, as reported in a recent New York Times article:

"Antismoking ads have changed a lot from the days when commercials gloomily listed health risk after health risk in an attempt to persuade smokers they should quit. Most smokers already know they should quit, and they usually try to do so eight times before they succeed, according to the American Legacy Foundation, a nonprofit group that fights smoking.

Messages from real people seem to be more persuasive to smokers, the foundation says. In 2006, the foundation continued its Truth campaign aimed at deterring teenagers from smoking with documentary-style commercials featuring a bushy-haired young man investigating the tobacco industry in an aggressive but funny manner."

The article also discusses the advertisement of smoking cessation products which includes telling the stories of real people who are trying to quit smoking. Click here for the full article.