"Many Photos" - NHS-backed stop smoking campaign is slammed as sexist

An NHS-backed stop smoking campaign has been slammed as sexist for saying quitting cigarettes makes women more attractive - while men become richer and fitter.

The 'patronising' Stop Smoking London adverts, which are plastered across London, were spotted at a pharmacy in East Dulwich by father-of-two Alex Chambers, 37.

The teacher was disappointed when he noticed the adverts represented the benefits gained from quitting for men and women as dramatically different.

Adverts show a man celebrating being able to run a 10K (left) while the woman says she now has fantastic skin (right)

Adverts show two men celebrating being able to run a 10K and saving up for a dream holiday.

Meanwhile, the girls delighted in having better skin and fresher breath.

Against a tagline of 'amazing things happen when you quit smoking', one poster showing a surprised woman read: 'OMG your skin looks fantastic.'

A second poster with a female model appearing to pout said: '#GoodbyeFagBreath.'

Mr Chambers posted the posters online with the sarcastic comment: 'MEN: Give up smoking and you'll be fitter and you'll have more money.

'WOMEN: Give up smoking and you'll be more attractive.'

Reacting to the campaign, he said: 'No matter what anyone tries to argue, those female posters are about being aesthetically more pleasing and conforming to those expectations.

'The bad breath one is also about being appealing to other people, certainly not being repellent to other people, whereas both the male ones were things where the man would get something out of it.

'Running a 10k, you get a sense of achievement. The other one, he's saved some money and got something out of it that they couldn't before.

'Whereas the women's adverts they've both done something to make them more pleasant in one way or another. I think each poster is made worse by their placement with the others.'

Mr Chambers posted the posters online with the sarcastic comment: 'MEN: Give up smoking and you'll be fitter and you'll have more money. WOMEN: Give up smoking and you'll be more attractive'

The photos caught the attention of psychologist Jennifer Toll, 34, who was aghast at the 'blatant sexism' displayed in the 'bizarre' adverts.

Mrs Toll, who is the founder of gender-empowering clothing brand Not Just A Princess, said: 'I was surprised because it was so blatant.

'It just looked like a massive oversight to me that they hadn't realised what they were saying [to women].

'I expect it of some more commercial companies, so I guess I was surprised that the NHS, being as brilliant as they are, had let it get through.

The photos caught the attention of psychologist Jennifer Toll, 34, who was aghast at the 'blatant sexism' displayed in the 'bizarre' adverts

'It is saying that your skin and your attractiveness is versus your ability to run - it's just so different to each gender.'

Mrs Toll claimed the posters were an example of the 'very subtle' sexism in everyday society.

She said: 'There are people out there who will say "it's too PC" and "why are you worried, that's what women do like".

'But if [appearance] is all we're going to be offered as women, you've really got to balance it between appealing to a target group and making it so blatantly sexist.'

The Amazing Things Happen campaign from Stop Smoking London is a combined effort by 31 London boroughs to encourage smokers to quit.

Around 1.3 million Londoners smoke tobacco, making up 13% of the estimated 9.4 million smokers in the UK.

Stop Smoking London and the Association of Directors of Public Health were contacted for comment.

A spokesman for the London Stop Smoking Campaign, said: 'This campaign highlights the positive short-term benefits of giving up smoking and was created following extensive research with smokers in London aged between 25 and 40.

'Clearly this campaign wasn't intended to offend anyone and we apologise if it has.' 

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News Photo NHS-backed stop smoking campaign is slammed as sexist
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