Hopefully, Jack will amuse, possibly enlighten, and hopefully undermine the images of social success that tobacco companies sell. However, the best way to reduce teen smoking is to identify the problem, “de-normalize” smoking, progressive legislation and through education.

With the help of a licensed clinical psychologist and a teacher with a masters degree in education, I’ve developed a lesson plan which focuses on media literacy. It informs children how marketing works, what a cigarette is, and how to “decode” the advertisers’ message.

The lesson plan also attempts to use Jack as a counter-advertising model, but that’s not it’s focus. It’s purpose is to teach adolescents about the science of marketing (surveys, targeted audiences) and to educate them. I feel it helps them think about issues a little differently. The keypoints are that cigarettes are not innocuous objects, but very well developed, sophisticated nicotine delivery systems and that nicotine itself is incredibly addictive.

Tobacco company advertising firms may pretend they are selling “individual rebellion”. In reality, they are selling very powerful, addictive drugs.

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