Cigarette Warnings

Smokers are pigs, digusting, stink, and often put their rights above those of non-smokers.  However the new warnings to be put on cigarette packages next year are just another example of an overbearing federal government.  The sad news is that it won't do any good.

Any smoker with an IQ higher than tap water knows that smoking is bad for them.  They got the clue when they coughed up part of their lung yesterday, or when a single flight of stairs leaves them breathless.  They get the message.  So why haven't they quit?

To understand why smokers don't quit, you need to understand what motivates people to change, or not change.  It is all about risk and reward.  Any bad habit that provides an immediate benefit will be difficult to kick.  Smoking gives the smoker immediate pleasure.  It also provides other side benefits, such as commradre as they stand outside with other smokers.

Now couple that immediate benefit with a negative consequence that is both delayed and uncertain.  Not all smokers become sick.  Hardly any become sick immediately.  So a habit that provides immediate pleasure with a delayed and uncertain negative consequence is the reason that smokers will ignore these new warnings and continue to smoke.

The entire government approach has a Clockwork Orange flavor to me.  In the movie the main character, Alex, is in prison for violent crimes that he committed.  He is selected as a candidate for an experimental treatment called Ludovico’s Technique, a form of brainwashing that incorporates associative learning. After being injected with a substance that makes him dreadfully sick, the doctors force Alex to watch exceedingly violent movies. In this way, Alex comes to associate violence with the nausea and headaches he experiences from the shot. The process takes two weeks to complete, after which the mere thought of violence has the power to make Alex ill.

 Our government is attempting the same mind control on a smaller scale.  They have passed a law that will force smokers to see painful visuals every time they light up.  Sounds like the Ludovico Technique to me. I don't see it working given the risk/reward equation that is so powerful to a smoker.  But I do worry what may be next.  Will we begin to see dead butterflies on our power bill?  Or pictures of murdered children at stores that sell weapons?