Historical and Contemporary analysis of smoking and e-cigarette adverts

A common theme in historical cigarette adverts is the cigarettes being recommended by doctors in order to reassure customers that what they were doing was healthy. The studies cited in these adverts were most likely adjusted to suit the company's agenda.

On the 1st of August 1965 cigarette advertisements were banned from TV due to The Royal College's campaign for it.

After discussion between the government and tobacco industry, all cigarette packets were required to have a warning on them that stated “WARNING by H.M. Government, SMOKING CAN DAMAGE YOUR HEALTH”. In 1986 cigarette ads were banned from cinemas and it became illegal to depict someone smoking in any advert.

Following a fire due to a dropped match in 1987 at King's Cross station that killed 31 people, cigarette adverts were banned in the Underground. After 1991 the European Union ruled that every cigarette packet must have two warnings on it, one stating ‘TOBACCO SERIOUSLY DAMAGES HEALTH’ and another warning stating how smoking clogs the arteries, causes heart attacks and strokes. All cigarette advertisements were banned entirely by 2005.

There are no cigarette adverts these days, instead there are smoking adverts that are solely focused on painting smoking in a negative light and encouraging smokers to get help. This is often through scare tactics that either play on the smoker's concern for the ones they love (as seen above) or simply grossing the smokers out or shocking them (as seen below). This is usually accompanied by a helpline or website that the smoker can follow to receive help.

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