Everyone knows that the reputation of cigarettes have vastly changed. What used to be seen as a product of leisure, is now a product of cancer. One of the major risks associated with cigarette smoke, is not the self-inflicted harm, but rather the dangers of second hand smoke. This danger is mostly expressed through the pure and innocent demeanor of children. Here, we have a 1950's ad, which display an innocent child requesting his mother to light up a cigarette. On the contrary, approximately 60 years later, the FDA has released a series of Ads which explicitly, and alarmingly, display the harmful effects of cigarette smoke. These warning labels will be released by June 22 2011. Take for example, this image below. There is an absence of the child in the picture, which allows the consumer to find the product more harmful. More provacatively, the FDA has decided to include images of children unwillingly subjected to their parents second hand smoke. The child, although it is seen in cartoon form (which may or may not perpetuate a sense of extreme detachment) is blatantly being harmed by its Mother's smoke. Is this an extreme step to take for the FDA? Or are cigarettes continuously undermined? I, personally, have grown up in an age where cigarettes were never condoned. Yet, I still witness smoking on a daily basis (and have admittedly been guilty of it myself.) Has the FDA simply realized that advertising might be the key to awareness?

What is surprisingly, the biggest change in tobacco advertising in 25 years (Ad Age) is causing quite a bit of uproar from the cigarette manufacturers. Industry leaders such R.J. Reynolds, and Lorillard, have already stated that such advertising will "obscure the companies brand name." (Ad Age)

The question that comes to mind is: does the FDA have the "right" to do this? Is the problem that people are unaware, or that they are ambivalent? Or, are people still bogged down by the idea of looking good with a cigarette? Each packaging is equipped with a category. A person can make a judgement about you through the type of cigarette you choose to smoke. If the aesthetics and reputations of cigarettes are being abruptly diminished by these warning labels, perhaps cigarettes will lose their seemingly timeless appeal.