NHS Smoking Helpline, NLP ,laser acupuncture are just some techniques you can choose to help you go smokefree. 9 million Britons feel the hardship of nicotine addiction in the new healthy society. The perception of smoking had changed drastically. From being advertised by the biggest 30s -40s Hollywood stars (like Clark Gable or John Wayne) in multimillion dollar deals to a growing legislation against anti-social smoking spreading around the world.
From the semiotics perspective it is a significant shift. The cigarette itself did not change much but what it signifies turned 180 degrees. Roland Barthes - a well known semiotician - suggested that this process undergoes various manipulations, in this case a desire to sell the product against the new scientific facts.
These days instead of the iconic faces, the society is being fed with cancer-eaten bodies of the social campaigns. A shocking imagery is changing the perception of a smoker who is pushed to the streets in the 21st century's 'pavement-smoking' culture.
