Smoke & Mirrors

Congratulations to the winners of Smoke & Mirrors' film competition. We think they're awesome and really effective.



You can see more about their campaign @ Smoke & Mirrors website

Doctors Were Worried About Smoking 400 Years Ago

Even 400 years ago, doctors were concerned about young people smoking. A doctor's letter from 1606 was found at a college library in Edinburgh.

The letter, which was published at the time by Dr Duncon's employer, concluded that tobacco "is so hurtful and dangerous to youth...

Read more @ BBC.co.uk

10 Things You Should Know About Shisha

When we go out into schools, a lot of you ask about shisha (also known as hookah, among other things). It's a regular, family practice in some cultures and it's also becoming cool with more young people too. This is partly because it's seen as being safer than smoking cigarettes.

A lot of information has been coming out in the last few weeks to show how shisha is actually way more dangerous than cigarettes.

We've got a video that shows you the dangers of shisha, so take a look!

African Children Poisoned by Nicotine

Here are some shocking facts from an article about how the tobacco industry is poisoning children in Africa.


Children in Malawi who are forced to work as tobacco pickers are exposed to nicotine poisoning equivalent to smoking 50 cigarettes a day, an investigation has found.

It is estimated that more than 78,000 children work on tobacco estates – some up to 12 hours a day, many for less than 1p an hour and without protective clothing.

The children reported common symptoms of green tobacco sickness (GTS), or nicotine poisoning, including severe headaches, abdominal pain, muscle weakness, coughing and breathlessness.

Everyday symptoms of GTS are more severe in children than adults as they have not built up a tolerance to nicotine through smoking and because of their physical size.

These children are risking their health for 11p a day.

Full article @ The Guardian.co.uk

Green tobacco sickness is a kind of poisoning that happens when you come into contact with wet tobacco leaves. Your skin absorbs the nicotine from the leaves. Think how at risk these kids are with no protective clothing on.

See also: 'Up In Smoke' documentary @ YouTube

The Truth About Tobacco Companies

If you've seen our page about the tobacco industry, you'll know how bad these businesses are. Even with age limits in place, they still try to hook the next generation of young smokers. They want your money at the expense of your health in order to sell more cigarettes to even more people.

thetruth is one of the best sites we've seen in a long time. It puts you in the role of someone applying to work for Big Tobacco. See if you're the kind of person who could do that job.

Smoke or No Smoke, Tobacco Is Still Deadly

Some people chew tobacco or 'dip snuff' because they think it's safer than smoking.

New research has just come out that shows how smokeless tobacco is just as dangerous as smoking cigarettes.

Raw tobacco and snuff do not produce smoke that can be inhaled but one pinch of such substances is enough for exposing the user to a bunch of harmful chemicals. It was found that the harmful effects of a pinch are equivalent to smoke from five cigarettes.

Read more

Nearly 30 cancer causing chemicals were found in smokeless tobacco, and their effects aren't pretty.


















More graphic images.

Anti-Tobacco Protestor Makes a Statement!

An anti-tobacco protestor hijacked an art project in Trafalgar Square today. His stunt highlighted the deaths caused by the tobacco industry, and how they get Hollywood actors to promote their products. His sign showed the estimated figure of 1 billion deaths that could be caused by smoking this century.

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

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.