(CC) licensed:janthemanson

The tobacco message is clear but the alcohol message is still mixed

Almost all of us know some one who would still be alive today----if only.

If only they had known about the dangers of tobacco before they had become addicted.

If only they had been able to give up before irreversible damage had been done.

If only there had been CLEAR, COHESIVE MESSAGES about the complete madness of smoking. Mixed Messages

Lobbyists working for the tobacco industry did their best to obscure the harmful effects of tobacco, spreading misinformation throughout the media, propping up politicians in bars across the country, whilst advertisers continued to place smoking, cigarettes and tobacco in glamorous locations, often linked with being healthy, fresh and "clear as a mountain stream".

In the early days, even health professionals would endorse the relaxing properties of tobacco, extolling its virtues and its ability to really "open the lungs"

Those same lungs are now struggling for breath with COAD, heart disease, and lung cancer.

Those that were spreading the misinformation in the UK are now doing the same in the emerging economies, where legislation is still woefully inadequate. Binge Drinking Culture.

These same mixed messages are happening in the UK today.

For a whole new generation, alcohol is the "new tobacco".

Fake benefits, sham clinical trials, expert medical endorsements, political lobbyists, glamour advertising, inadequate advertising standards and active promotion to "hook" young people into a life time of binge drinking and alcohol misuse.

Everyday every negative statement about alcohol is contradicted by headlines such as:

"Rebujito: cocktails that are just what the doctor ordered"

"Red wine is good for your heart"

Alcohol 'cuts arthritis risk'

"Drinkers have more success in Business"

"Start drinking in middle age for healthier heart"

"Social networking in the bar is good for business".

Home Office adverts welcomed

We need something hard hitting, so we wholly applaud the Home Office's series of shocking adverts. A sizeable campaign is vital to counteract these positive messages,

Our city centres, A&E Units and Police Stations are a testimony to the devastation caused by alcohol, everyday of the week.

Hospital admissions for alcohol related illness, mental health problems, liver cirrhosis and accidents have doubled in the last decade.

Domestic and street violence as well as the vulnerability of young people under the influence are just a few of the social problems emerging.

And it's your PCT and NHS Trust, under resourced and undermined, that has to pick up the pieces.

Don't let the misinformation swamp your messages.

In twenty years time almost all of us will know some one who would still be alive today ---- if only.

For more information, please use the contact form below.