Any better way to deliver the message? Well, there are certainly many. But this stop word perfectly written with cigarette sticks seems to deliver the message very succinctly.
Unfortunately, communication is a two-way street and the photo, shared by Anwen Brown has already received mixed interpretations by smokers and non-smokers alike.
One said "That pic to me is saying `stop smoking, but before you do here's 76 i've already got lined up for you'".
Another claimed that smoking has at least one advantage. As he put it "amidst innumerable bad effects, its got 1 good...Women can't have uterine Fibroid if they smoke".
But there is a positive responder who said "I've just stopped smoking myself by using patches which is working for me."
Why is smoking so addictive and a `hard-to-get-out' cage?
The responses expose the danger of smoking which Cancer Research UK says is directly liked to cancer, representing about a quarter of all cancer deaths in UK, which was about 43.000 by 2009 figures. In the same year about 102,000 people died from preventable, smoking-related diseases including cancers.
And there was an estimated 60,000 cases of cancer in the UK in 2010, reported in people inhaling Tobacco smoke.
Despite cigarette smoking being outlawed in public places since 2007, a record number still smoke. Even so, the number of males v females who smoke has reduced, so its not all bad. In the sixty years between 1950 and 2010, smoking in Britain has decreased steadily, as can be seen from the graph below.
But with around 86% of lung cancer deaths in the UK blamed on tobacco smoking, anti-smoking agencies are not resting on their oars yet. No is the World Health Organisation.
The study by Cancer Research found that between 2008 and 2010, "the difference between the sexes was not statistically significant" and there are an estimated 10 million adults cigarette smokers in Britain.
British Government efforts to curb tobacco smoking has gained a lot of ground, intensifying since Tuesday 22nd, October 2002 when the House of Commons voted in favour of banning the advertisement of tobacco on billboards, in newspapers, and on websites. Until then, the House sold its own-label brand of cigarettes.
Nigeria is one of the countries where the government took radical measures to curb smoking.
Under the late Minister of Health, late Dr. Olikoye Ransome-Kuti, cigarette manufacturers were forced to insert the words "Cigarette Smoking is liable to kill you.".
In 2013, the campaign to curb smoking is still being waged, with one blog "TobaccoCTRL" calling for stopage of tobacco use.
In Britain smokers were officially banned from smoking in public places in the whole of the United Kingdom in 2007 when England finally implemented the legislation, and on 1 October 2007, it also became illegal to sell cigarette to a minor.
The United Nations has been active with efforts to curb tobacco smoking, declaring the 31st of May each year as a `No Tobacco Day' and asking all member nations to support its call and place a total ban on tobacco advertising.
On May 31, 2008, Dr Margaret Chan, WHO Director-General called on governments to protect young people by imposing a ban on all tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship as a powerful tool to protect the youth.
World No Tobacco Day on May 31 2013, the UN agency restated its call on countries to ban all forms of tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship as "Tobacco use kills nearly 6 million people every year."
The Director-General said “Governments must make it their top priority to stop the tobacco industry’s shameless manipulation of young people and women, in particular, to recruit the next generation of nicotine addicts.”
On the 40th Anniversary of the United Nations 1988, it held its first World `No Smoking Day' on April 7. A year later, on May 17, 1989, the World Health Organization passed a resolution calling for May 31 to be annually known as World No Tobacco Day. It has been observed each year since then.
That the WHO is still on this campaign for 25 years show how problamatic the addiction to tobacco smoking really is. And despite several efforts by governments, smokers find it hard to quit.
In recent days, billboards and neon signs in Britain, have used locals to lure smokers out of their addiction. People who have been successfully encouraged to quit by switching over to E-Cigarettes are featured with their testimonies.
The NHS also have have been active in attempting to lure smokers to quit by visiting public Libaries and shopping centres and offering free assistance.
If you are finding it hard to quit, the NHS provides free support. You can get help by visiting their site [http://www.nhs.uk/smokefree] or follow them on Twitter for the `NHS-Smokefree service'.
To follow them on Twitter, check out: @nhssmokefree.
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* Statistical Graph: Cancer Research UK.
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