Smoking and the art of persuasion

Wednesday, May 30, 2007

By Sam Petri

Jackson Hole, Wyo.-Just as big tobacco positions its ads subtly in places people purchase or smoke cigarettes – like gas stations and bus stops – so does their opposition. In this state, that’s Tobacco Free Wyoming. The two groups are in an advertising cold war to change your opinion of how you view tobacco.   
   
Right now, 21 percent of our state’s population smokes, according to Mike Sukle, the creative force behind Wyoming Department of Health’s Tobacco Free Wyoming ad campaign. That’s a number he’d like to see decrease and he’s using a plethora of advertising techniques to combat what he sees as a public health problem.

“We need to turn second hand smoke into the bad guy,” said Sukle during a presentation at last week’s Smoke-Free Symposium at Snow King. By personalizing the destructive nature of second hand smoke, everyone becomes a victim, and it becomes a public health issue.

It’s a concept Jackson’s town council hasn’t bought into yet. A few weeks ago they shot down the proposed ordinance to ban smoking in all public places. “Wyoming is a fiercely independent state,” said Sukle, noting that the overall attitude here is: “Stay out of my life; don’t tell me what to do.”

The libertarian attitude that Sukle referenced is something he is trying to subvert through advertising. In this paper you will see ads that show second hand smoke choking an unassuming victim, designed by Sukle himself.

A more unexpected technique he has implemented is adding anti-smoking messages to coffee sleeves at gas stations. Most people don’t expect to be persuaded when they pick up their cup of Joe and go to light up a smoke.

“We’re not telling them to quit,” stressed Sukle, “We’re letting them make that leap on their own.”

That seems to be at the crux of this whole debate: giving people the chance to make their own business and life decisions. During a separate panel discussion, anti-smoking advocates from around the state met to speak about their success and failures.

Byron Rookstool, of Laramie County Tobacco Use Prevention, was successful in passing an ordinance in Cheyenne. Rookstool got council members’ friends on board, and then had them make personal phone calls in order to persuade the vote later on. He also got to the newspapers, “We had great support from our news papers, we went and met with the editor, assistant editor, the owner of the newspaper, and the editorial board, and just kind of gave them an overview of what we were doing. And went around the room and talked about why we were involved,” said Rookstool.

Chad Lindsay, of the Big Horn County Health Coalition, was not as successful in Lovell, Wyo. He described an unruly city council meeting where longtime friends were shouting at each other and all order was lost during the heated meeting. He cited his loss of support as the lack of education in the community.

“Educate, educate, educate,” he said, warning the panel to gather solid community support before going to vote.

 Although the smoking ban in Jackson was voted down, the debate continues on a local level. The panel noted that they try to change small local governments because at the state and national level, tobacco lobbyists have a greater influence.
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Smoking and the art of persuasion | Planet JH News Article: General Health And Fitness

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