Put the Lighter Away

I've never been tempted to smoke. It doesn't smell good; when people around me smoke, I get a sore throat the next day; it's expensive; and, oh yeah, we all know that it's really bad for you. So I'm amazed that, knowing what we do in this day and age, people still start. (Especially young people. How can you pay for packs of cigarettes when you barely have enough to cover rent?)

So I'm all for the new cigarette packaging rules. It doesn't make smoking look vaguely okay, which works. For cigarette companies, smoking can still look hardcore, so smokers won't be deterred. But some people might rethink lighting up, especially people who are just starting. DJ Stout, one of the new packaging designers, said:

"Our marketing advice to cigarette companies in the new heavily regulated era is to fully accept the new aggressive anti-smoking restrictions and wallow in the government’s apocalyptic health warnings. Don’t make excuses or dance around the stepped-up marketing regulations, just transform the whole cigarette pack into a three dimensional warning label."

I imagine that most smokers will continue smoking. But at least it's a step in the right direction--warning people about exactly what they're doing to their bodies.