Group releases new ad against tobacco

The teen group that’s leading the fight against tobacco in Iowa released its latest advertising campaign today. The group is called “JEL” or Just Eliminate Lies. Their efforts have centered on counter advertising against the tobacco companies to try to keep their peers from getting hooked on tobacco. JEL member Thomas Oldham of Des Moines, says the latest ads will focus on tobacco addiction.Oldham, a 15-year-old student at Des Moines Lincoln, helped introduce the new ads to students at Johnston High School today. He says they try to show how nicotine can pull you in.One of the ads shows a girl in an airport that needs a cigarette so bad that she takes a half-smoked butt out of an ashtray and lights it up. Another ad shows how tough it is to quit smoking once you start.The add shows kids saying they can quite smoking tomorrow, then shows a man who needs a lung transplant saying he claimed he could “quit tomorrow” for 25 years. The graphic ad shows a picture of the man’s scar from surgery on his lungs. Oldham says the ads get people’s attention, and his claims were born out when nearly all the students at the assembly raised their hands to say they’d seen previous JEL ads. The new ads will soon turn up on TV, radio and billboards across the state.