AMV BBDO Pens Petition To Get Smokers To Quit

We all know the severity of smoking – it’s written on every packet of cigarettes, Smoking Kills – and yet, we still continue to ignore the signs and persevere with the habit regardless, thinking we can will ourselves to stop as and when we please.

However, AMV BBDO has created a hard-hitting campaign with Cancer Research UK to highlight the lack of public health funds available for when people do finally decide to quit.

Research from the charity suggests that smokers who opt for help when quitting are three times more likely to be successful.

Yet over £200 million has been cut from public health funding, including many of the Stop Smoking Services, so now smokers have even less opportunity to kick the habit for good.

The spot, helmed by James Lawes, documents the reality faced by many smokers once they find out that there are not enough resources to support their decision.

And so, the agency has created a petition calling for the tobacco industry to donate its profits towards funding and continuing the Stop Smoking Services.

The petition – available here – attempts to impose a levy through the government.

“We wanted to show the reality of having to make this impossible decision,” says AMV BBDO’s creative director Nicholas Hulley. “We put it to ordinary people to make the choice for those they care about; the film shows the dilemma they face.”