America's Next Top Model Says "No" to Smoking
Let me start this post by saying my husband loathes and despises reality TV of any sort. Therefore, it is almost impossible to watch any of those yummy, juicy, totally indulgent shows in our house without having him follow my girls and me around commenting on how they are all just worthless, rigged, and not reality at all. Blah, blah, blah.
Honey, I love ya, but sometimes I just NEED to watch something that is totally fun. And, an hour of America's Next Top Model is a good time to eat chocolate and bond with my teen girls as we choose our favorites and dish the dirt about the ones we can't stand.
But this week, I was pleasantly surprised to find that my wicked indulgence was also packed with a strong health message for my girls...smoking is BAD for you!
Each week, the wanna-be models have a challenging photo shoot where they have to pull off a certain "look" or "emotion". You know, dig down deep to find that inner supermodel.
Tuesday night, the challenge was a mirror image shot. The first part of the shoot was the model togged out in red-carpet glamour in front of dressing mirror holding a cigarette in a sexy, seductive pose. Then, she was whisked off to makeup and came out looking more than a little like one of the orcs from the Lord of the Rings movies.
The latex and makeup was designed to portray each model as afflicted with one of the many diseases and conditions that smoking can lead to. One of the models was shown with effects of cancer and chemotherapy...her sparse hair falling out in her hands. Another had a hole in her neck where a tracheotomy tube had been removed. Yet another was shown coughing up blood (ewwww). The images, once combined, were even more startling. Beauty versus the beast in the mirror.
My teens' faces were filled with disgust.
But it didn't end there. At the close of the show, host (and executive producer) supermodel Tyra Banks always stands, holding a handful of photos of all those girls who are moving on in the competition. One of the contestants is eliminated and must go home.
This time, as Tyra stood before the group, she explained the point of the mirror-image photo shoot. "This is a no-smoking cycle," she said. "So many young girls are fans of America's Next Top Model, and right now so many young girls are fans of you. If they see their idol puffing and smoking a cigarette, what does that make them think? Wow, she's smoking, that's cool. So that's why smoking will be banned. It's over."
She went on to tell the girls who are smokers that if they wanted to go back to the house and enjoy their last puffs they should do that, because there would be no more after that day.
Now, here's my question: Is this going to be cold-turkey? Is the show going to provide some smoking cessation assistance to these poor girls? It's not that I don't think they should quit smoking. I do. But, quitting is hard, stressful, painful. If you want to know more, just visit the wonderful folks on WebMD's Smoking Cessation Support Group message board. They'll tell ya.
I hope that next week America's Next Top Model is going to show even more social responsibility by laying out a quit plan for these young women.
Related Topics:
Technorati Tags: America's Next Top Model, The CW, reality TV, smoking cessation, smoking, Tyra Banks
Honey, I love ya, but sometimes I just NEED to watch something that is totally fun. And, an hour of America's Next Top Model is a good time to eat chocolate and bond with my teen girls as we choose our favorites and dish the dirt about the ones we can't stand.
But this week, I was pleasantly surprised to find that my wicked indulgence was also packed with a strong health message for my girls...smoking is BAD for you!Each week, the wanna-be models have a challenging photo shoot where they have to pull off a certain "look" or "emotion". You know, dig down deep to find that inner supermodel.
Tuesday night, the challenge was a mirror image shot. The first part of the shoot was the model togged out in red-carpet glamour in front of dressing mirror holding a cigarette in a sexy, seductive pose. Then, she was whisked off to makeup and came out looking more than a little like one of the orcs from the Lord of the Rings movies.
The latex and makeup was designed to portray each model as afflicted with one of the many diseases and conditions that smoking can lead to. One of the models was shown with effects of cancer and chemotherapy...her sparse hair falling out in her hands. Another had a hole in her neck where a tracheotomy tube had been removed. Yet another was shown coughing up blood (ewwww). The images, once combined, were even more startling. Beauty versus the beast in the mirror.
My teens' faces were filled with disgust.
But it didn't end there. At the close of the show, host (and executive producer) supermodel Tyra Banks always stands, holding a handful of photos of all those girls who are moving on in the competition. One of the contestants is eliminated and must go home.
This time, as Tyra stood before the group, she explained the point of the mirror-image photo shoot. "This is a no-smoking cycle," she said. "So many young girls are fans of America's Next Top Model, and right now so many young girls are fans of you. If they see their idol puffing and smoking a cigarette, what does that make them think? Wow, she's smoking, that's cool. So that's why smoking will be banned. It's over."
She went on to tell the girls who are smokers that if they wanted to go back to the house and enjoy their last puffs they should do that, because there would be no more after that day.
Now, here's my question: Is this going to be cold-turkey? Is the show going to provide some smoking cessation assistance to these poor girls? It's not that I don't think they should quit smoking. I do. But, quitting is hard, stressful, painful. If you want to know more, just visit the wonderful folks on WebMD's Smoking Cessation Support Group message board. They'll tell ya.
I hope that next week America's Next Top Model is going to show even more social responsibility by laying out a quit plan for these young women.
Related Topics:
- How to Quit Smoking (WebMD Video)
- Adult Smokers: State-by-State
Technorati Tags: America's Next Top Model, The CW, reality TV, smoking cessation, smoking, Tyra Banks
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