OPINION: Shaming smokers not the answer

FILTHY HABIT?: Is shaming and demonising of smokers really encouraging them to quit?

These days, it's hard to be a smoker in New Zealand.

Ciggies are banned from inside bars and most rental accommodation. Images of blackened lungs leer out at smokers from their packs. The cost of tobacco skyrockets every year. Everyone from All Blacks to reality show contestants declare smoking is "not our future".

I'm all for a smokefree society. Problem is, many New Zealanders' attitudes aren't exactly helping the cause.

Lately, it's become socially acceptable to shame and demonise smokers. It is a truth universally acknowledged in the public consciousness that smokers are filthy, obnoxious, weak-willed, and flat-out disgusting. Giving smokers ferocious looks in the street is encouraged. To reprimand a smoker in public is considered laudable, heroic even.

If we treat smokers like pariahs, they'll never want to light up again, our health dollars will be saved, and we can all breath a fresh, clean sigh of relief, right?

Not that simple.

I asked my ex-smoker friends how being shamed and stigmatised for their habit made them feel. The vast majority said shaming did not influence their quitting. One said the sole effect it had was making him feel like a leper. Another said all the "it's bad for you" jibes from strangers just made her angry. Another said she was only able to quit when the lectures from her family stopped.

In fact, being maligned made them so anxious they were more likely to reach for a cigarette than stub one out.

The experts have a bit to say on the effect of shaming on the human psyche. Shame, wrote California clinical psychologist Aaron Kipnis, convinces a person they are, at their very core, inadequate and wrong.

Psychology Today writer Darlene Lancer said drug addicts experiencing shame are less likely to seek help, as they believe they are unlovable, a failure and not worthy of wellness.

On another much-publicised health topic -- a UK study found obese people who are ridiculed and discriminated against are actually more likely to gain weight, not lose it.

Yes, I know. The health risks of smoking are pretty damn serious. But people aren't motivated to care for things they hate, least of all themselves. Why should smokers be any different?

I have noticed of late that media around smoking cessation has tended towards more positive reinforcement: ads promoting Quitline and other quit smoking support groups, and messages encouraging smokers to focus on a fatter wallet, a clean home environment and more energy for the kids.

So, maybe we need a bit more positive reinforcement in our own attitude? Because, believe it or not, smokers are people, too. And a little compassion goes a long way.