--- title: How to Quit Smoking: Positive Ads description: Antismoking messaging works differently depending on who's watching, a new study shows canonical: https://time.com/3374941/quitting-smoking/ author: Alexandra Sifferlin article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-09-15T13:19:32.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T08:06:26.125Z article:section: Health og:title: How to Get Someone to Quit Smoking og:description: Antismoking messaging works differently depending on who's watching, a new study shows og:url: https://time.com/3374941/quitting-smoking/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: How to Get Someone to Quit Smoking twitter:description: Antismoking messaging works differently depending on who's watching, a new study shows twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # Here's the Best Way to Get Someone to Quit Smoking > Sponsored content. 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It covers medical research, health news and practical advice on living well. #### Where can I get reliable health news by email? Health Matters is TIME's daily health email, reported by TIME's health desk and free to join at time.com/newsletters. It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free daily newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. ## Video: See Who Really Runs The US Cigarette Game [Watch (HLS stream): See Who Really Runs The US Cigarette Game](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/xw2mozmS.m3u8) (1:59)  _Published 2014-09-05. See Who Really Runs The US Cigarette Market_ by [Alexandra Sifferlin](https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/) ## Alexandra Sifferlin Sep 15, 2014 1:19 PM UTC by [Alexandra Sifferlin](https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/) ## Alexandra Sifferlin Sep 15, 2014 1:19 PM UTC For years, the U.S. government has gone back and forth about whether or not it’s legal to force tobacco companies to use images of cancerous lungs and other graphic pictures on their cigarette packaging. The assumption, of course, is that the images will terrify any smoker into kicking the habit. However, a new [study](http://ntr.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2014/09/12/ntr.ntu164.abstract) published in the journal _Nicotine & Tobacco Research_ shows that the graphic tactic might not work on all smokers. The effectiveness of antismoking messaging depends on the attitude of the smoker. Researchers from the Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center studied 740 smokers to figure out what type of antismoking campaigns worked best. They discovered that messages that stress the benefits of quitting, like “quitting smoking reduces the risk of death due to tobacco,” were more effective at getting smokers to quit if those smokers thought that quitting would be very hard. The more graphic and negative ads like “smoking can kill you” tended to work best for smokers who thought they could quit whenever they wanted. One of the reasons motivating messaging worked best among smokers who viewed quitting as a challenge could be that they’re already well aware of the health risks. On the other hand, the researchers speculate that loss-framed messaging — the kind that focuses on the negative consequences of continuing a behavior — worked better for smokers who felt they had more agency in their cessation because the negative ads built up motivation to stop. Ultimately, the researchers believe that having a mixture of various messaging strategies is the best way to appeal to a broad range of smokers, and that currently there are far more negative messages than positive ones. That’s not to say that scary ads don’t work. For a couple years, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has poured resources into an [intensive ad campaign](http://time.com/2914314/the-governments-super-scary-new-anti-smoking-campaign/) called “Tips From Former Smokers” which features real former smokers who have experienced serious setbacks from their habit, like no longer being able to speak properly or having a baby too early. During past campaigns, the CDC has said that their quit lines experience 80% more activity when the ads are running compared with the weeks before. Terrifying ads aren’t going away anytime soon, but mixing in more motivating messages might appeal to would-be quitters of all kinds. ## Transcript In the first half of 2014, cigarette sales in the U. S. were roughly $ 21 billion. But one company will no longer be taking a piece of that pie. CVS Caremark, which has changed its name to CVS Health. Has decided that cigarettes don't fit its healthy profile. As a result, CVS Health stands to lose $ 2 billion in revenue from sales of cigarettes and other items smokers typically buy. In March, Attorneys General in 28 states asked companies with pharmacies. Including Wal- Mart, Rite Aid, Walgreens, Kroger, and Safeway, to follow suit and stop selling tobacco alongside medicine. Their answer? Don't hold your breath. [ MUSIC ] But drugstores like Rite Aid or Walgreens don't account for much of the market. Just around seven. Percent of sales. Convenience stores, like 7- Eleven and Circle K, make up the lion's share of cigarette sales, about 86 % of the market. Those companies have given no indication they intend to cut down on cigarette sales. And who is distributing the cigarettes to them. One of the nation's biggest tobacco distributors is McLane and Company. A grocery wholesaler specializing in highly regulated and taxed goods such as cigarettes and alcohol. McLane used to be owned by Wal- Mart but has since been sold to Berkshire Hathaway. Meaning that one of the country's biggest tobacco merchants is none other than Warren Buffet. And while CBS Health has dropped tobacco, other stores have taken it's place. Dollar General has begun selling tobacco in it's eleven thousand stores and rival Family Dollar now sells it in 6000 stores. 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