The Smoker's Body

When you choose to smoke, you're also choosing to risk life and limb(s) by exposing yourself to the potential of many serious diseases.



Based on 'The Smoker's Body' originally produced by COLORS magazine #21, July - August 1997.

Try the interactive version here.

Serious Quitters Arcade!

We now have a gaming arcade where you can test your button-bashing, platforming and aiming skills in three different games. See if you can top the highscore table! Play them all here for free.



The arcade - made by Pfizer and Emakina - was nominated for a 2009 Webby Award.

31st May 2009 is World No Tobacco Day

The World Health Organization's annual World No Tobacco Day is on the 31st of May. This year's campaign is promoting the use of shocking images on cigarette packets instead of making them seem cool (which they're obviously not) with slick packaging. They're pretty effective as you can see.

Check out WHO's official page about the day, where you can see their posters and flyers and read more about the issues.

Last year's campaign was all about how cigarettes are portrayed by the media as glamorous fashion accessories. The tobacco industry also uses the media to target young people through advertising.

The tobacco industry spends billions of dollars each year spreading its marketing net as widely as possible to attract young customers, targetting youth in fun and familiar environments, at the movies, on the internet, in fashion magazines, and at music concerts and sports events.

Last year's site is still full of great information and interesting videos!

In related news, Ireland will ban tobacco advertisements starting from July.

Retailers will have to ensure tobacco products are kept out of sight in shops from July 1, under strict new Department of Health guidelines.

The guidelines also warn that not even a hint of any tobacco advertising can be visible in the shops.

In addition, customers must be shown just one packet of cigarettes at a time.

Read more

Quit Because on Britain's Next Top Model!

Last night, LivingTV aired episode 4 of Britain's Next Top Model 5. The show culminated in a photoshoot which promoted several charities by visually depicting their respective causes. One of those charities was QUIT, with Quit Because presenter Alison Walsh in the studio providing the contestants with expert advice on how to portray the effects of smoking!

You can read The Sun's article previewing the episode here.

Photographs courtesy of Britain’s Next Top Model on Living.

Check out the footage below, with Quit Because and Ali featured at 0:40 and 8:38 into the video!

Ex-smokers happier and wealthier

inthenews.co.uk has an article on some research conducted by Cancer Research UK showing that giving up smoking not only benefits your state of mind but your wallet or purse too!

New research has claimed ex-smokers are 'overwhelmingly' happier after quitting.

The study by Cancer Research UK found more than two thirds of non-smokers polled said they felt better since giving up.

The length of time since quitting also affected the level of happiness. Ex-smokers who had stopped more than a year ago reported feeling happier than ex-smokers who had stopped within the last year.

Even among ex-smokers who had recently stopped a large majority felt happier than when they smoked.

Read more

British Annual Tobacco's AGM Demonstation

ASH Wales organized a demonstration outside the annual general meeting of BAT last week. Quit Because presenters Ed, Hayley and Michelle joined forces and protested out on the frontline.

It was good to see some really enthusiastic young people from London, Wales and Liverpool challenging members of the tobacco company. They did it in a polite and friendly way but really drove the point across. They also made some really great banners.

- Hayley

Last year, ASH and Ffaith laid out 1,000 shoes outside the BAT's AGM to symbolise the 100,000 Africans killed by BAT products each year.

British Annual Tobacco is one of the largest tobacco companies in the world. The tobacco industry is well aware of the risks of smoking, yet they continue to endanger people’s health and negatively affect the environment.

Martin Broughton, BAT's executive chairman, advised his children not to smoke, according to an interview in the Times. He said his son and daughter do not smoke but that he would have warned them if he "caught them behind the bike sheds" when they were younger.

"I said to them, 'I would advise you not to smoke. But if you want to smoke it is your affair. It is not good for you. You are better off not smoking'."

Read more about what the tobacco industry really thinks.