Etc.

Let's talk about advertising. You may have seen this commercial. 


I find it quite interesting. There's also a radio spot wherein a man complains about how much everything sucks because he's trying to quit smoking. Roll in the tagline, "Nicorrette can help it suck less" and you've got a winner.

I'd like to start a counter campaign. It might sound something like this, "Quitting smoking sucks. But you know what sucks more? Emphysema, heart disease, several different kinds of cancer...oh and don't forget infertility among various other serious health risks associated with your decision to continue smoking." Direct and harsh. That would be my advertising strategy.

On a related note, this would also be my strategy if I were an intervention counselor (conversely the reason no one would ever allow me to be an intervention counselor). I think some of those people just need a big dose of harsh reality. "Becky, I understand that you do meth because you think your dad doesn't love you - but guess what, nobody loves you. You're a freaking meth addict. Of course the authorities won't let your kids live with you. You're house is a 10th grade chemistry lab gone stupid. Now quit being a D.A.R.E. ad and get your s*it together."

The downside of this strategy is that it would ultimately cause an exponential increase in intervention related suicides, which obviously could not be tolerated. My life as an intervention counselor would be over and I would turn to drugs, alcohol and Modern Warfare 2 (66% of my life right now) to fill the void left in my life. Then, years later I would agree to be in a documentary about addiction, totally unaware that I would soon face and intervention.

Fate, you tricky bastard. There you go again turning the tables on me again! And that's called the circle of life kids.