David Bell

Mrs. Petty
ENG101
23 November 2014
Four Inch Fuse

There is smoke coming from the right that looks menacing as if threatening the childs
life. The smoke then wraps around above the childs head forming a halo. There is text that says
Children of parents who smoke, get to heaven earlier. Advertising companies are using
children a lot more often in advertising. The image makes a strong emotional tie, shows the
extreme issues, such as respiratory infections presented by secondhand smoke, and also shows
that children cannot control the environments they are placed in because they are controlled
by their parents.
First and foremost, the image makes a strong emotional tie in many different ways, and
uses emotion as its main rhetorical appeal. To begin with, the image uses an innocent child as
the main focus. The young girl has blue eyes, which is meant to show that the child has a pain
that needs to be treated, and she also has bright pink cheeks to show that the child has a
passive role in her secondhand smoking situation. Black is also used as the background to bring
a sense of life endangerment (Cherry). Furthermore, the use of children in advertising is use to
make an emotional impact and influence decision making (Dewan).
Also, the image brings out the extremity of secondhand smoke. The text: Children of
parents who smoke, get to heaven earlier used instantly shows that secondhand smoke is a

severe problem. The text logically states that secondhand smoke is killing children, even if the
cigarette is not being smoked by the child directly. The text along the bottom of the image
reads Child Health Foundation and gives a link to the German Child Health Foundations
website. It is white in Arial font and helps explain the image because without the text there
would not be a clear meaning. The fact that the Child Health Foundation is releasing many
advertisements about secondhand smoke shows that this is making a large impact on
childrens health (Non-Smoking-Campaign: Smoke Ring). Plus, further investigation shows
that children who are exposed to secondhand smoke are at increased risk for asthma, Sudden
Infant Death Syndrome, pneumonia, bronchitis and many other lower respiratory tract
infections. EPA has roughly estimated that between approximately 225,000 children who
receive lower respiratory tract infections are linked to secondhand smoke (Health Effects of
Exposure to Secondhand Smoke).
Furthermore, the image shows that the child cannot control the environment in which
she is placed. The smoke is trailing menacingly in from the right side of the image. The child,
being so innocent does not even notice the fact that the smoke is looming above her head and
slowly killing her. The fact that the childs parents smoke is enough to put her at risk for many
respiratory problems. 11% of children aged 6 years and under are exposed to environmental
tobacco smoke in their homes on a regular basis (Health Effects of Exposure to Secondhand
Smoke).
To conclude, the images used to combat secondhand smoke use very strong rhetorical
visuals to complete their mission of abolishing smoking entirely. The images use pathos, ethos
and logos to appeal to the viewers. Secondhand smoke so rarely is portrayed as something that

is going on in movies or television programs, but these anti-secondhand smoke advertisements

are bringing out a side of the topic that really needs to be exposed.

Works Cited

Cherry, Kendra. "Can Color Really Change How You Feel and Act?" About. About, n.d. Web. 23
Nov. 2014.
Cortes, Claudia. "COLOR IN MOTION." COLOR IN MOTION. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Nov. 2014.
Dewan, Neha. "Advertisers Use Kids to Sway Big Decisions." The Economic Times. Economic
Times, 5 Oct. 2011. Web. 23 Nov. 2014.
"Health Effects of Exposure to Secondhand Smoke." EPA. Environmental Protection Agency, n.d.
Web. 23 Nov. 2014.
"Non-Smoking-Campaign: Smoke Ring." Ads of the World. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Nov. 2014.