Source: Scotsman (UK) Contact: http://www.scotsman.com/ Pubdate: Fri, 24 Jul 1998 Author: Jennifer Trueland - Health Correspondent SCOT'S LOW-KEY ANTI-SMOKING ADVERT DEFENDED Health campaigners in Scotland have defended their "softly, softly" approach to persuading young people not to smoke in the wake of a shocking new publicity drive south of Border. The English Health Education Authority yesterday launched a new campaign which features photographs of diseased organs taken from dead smokers. The poster and internet campaigns show four close-up pictures: a lung rid-with cancer, a diseased heart, a brain after a haeorrhage and a large tumour inside a smoker's mouth. These pictures are linked to black-and-white photographs of young smokers in clubs and bars, epitomising the cool and trendy image of the habit. The rising number of young people smoking, particularly girls, is a major headache for health officials, who fear increased deaths and diseases linked to tobacco. The Health Education Board Scotland (HEBS) has no plans to change tactics. Last year, as part of the Think About It campaign, HEBS launched an animated television advert that is so subtle it is almost subliminal. In a 'Simpsons'-style format, the advert shows young people chewing on blue sticks which make them ill, kill them, taste horrible, but are the epitome of cool. In this advert, shown during young people's favourite programmes such as 'Friends', no-one admits that they hate the blue stick until one girl, trying it for the first time, spits it out and dedares: "This tastes boggin." The Think About It campaign aims to turn young people against smoking by promoting a change of attitude - rather than hitting them over the head with the habit's consequences. A spokesman for HEBS said: "We welcome any new iniatative to alert young people to the dangers of smoking. HEBS knows that young people are aware of the drawbacks of smoking and our attitude has always been that we do not want to hector yonng people. We will continue with this approach." The HEA Campaign - "Every cigarette is Doing You Damage" - pursues the "it couldn't happen to me" attitude prevalent among young people who think smoking is cool and that its fatal effects are years away. It follows research in the United States showing that young smokers are already damaging their bodies. Katie Aston, the HEA campaign manager, said that while about a third of people aged 16 to 24 smoked - more than any other age group - "most think they can quit before it is too late". "Young people think they know the facts about smoking. But they don't. The damage begins immediately," she said. At yesterday's launch, Dr Chris Donovan, who specialises in care for young people at the Royal College of General Practitioners, described talking to elderly cancer patients in hospitals. He said: ~They would say to me, 'Why didn't I listen?' We have a moral obligation to lay the facts in front of youngsters." Lisa Barnes, 29, from Chester, who has tried to give up smoking many times since she started aged 15, said she wished such a campaign had existed before she got hooked. She said: "It recognises that some teenagers find smoking glamorous. It's very realistic but very shocking." - --- Checked-by: (Joel W. Johnson)