Anti-smoking ads in France that appear to show a teen boy and a teen girl on their knees about to perform oral sex on a man are causing a stir.
The ads from the Non-Smokers’ Rights Association display the two adolescents kneeling at the waist of a businessman with a cigarette in their mouth.
The ads are meant to link smoking to submission and have a caption that reads,
“Smoking means being a slave to tobacco.”
The director for the Non-Smoker’s Rights Association, Remi Parola, is defending the ads and tells ABC News that while the sexual connotation is there, the message is still effective.
“Traditional advertisements targeting teens don’t affect them. Talking about issues of health, illness or even death, they don’t get it. However, when we talk about submission and dependence, they listen. The visuals have a sexual connotation, that I can’t deny, but it’s really a way to start a discussion with young people to get them to understand the dangers of smoking.”
The ads are scheduled to run in the country’s magazines and newspapers.
The country’s family minster is calling for a ban on the ads.
What do you think…are these ads too much or just enough?
