How do cigarette advertisements take advantage of womens insecurities about body image?
• Tobacco companies know that many women in our society think they should be thin, so the models in the ads are skinny, and the cigarettes are called slims, lights or longs. These ads feed the idea that all women should look like models. One group in the United States became angry at billboard cigarette ads directed at women, and pasted their own slogan on top. It read: Love Your Body – Not Hers • Associating thinness with smoking can start early. Researchers have found a direct relation between early smoking (before grade 6) – in both girls and boys – and low body satisfaction and fears about being overweight. How does smoking affect your appearance? • Nicotine constricts the blood vessels that bring oxygen to the skin. Without enough oxygen, skin ages faster – smokers end up with gray complexions and wrinkles. • Smoking stains the teeth and fingers, turning them yellow. The smell of cigarette smoke clings to the hair and clothes, making them smell stale. • Smoking also causes bad bre
