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Gunther Von Hagens' Body Worlds Launches Dramatic Appeal to Smokers

Posted on: Tuesday, 14 November 2006, 09:01 CST

To further highlight the American Cancer Society's 30th year of the Great American Smokeout on November 16, Gunther von Hagens' BODY WORLDS, the Anatomical Exhibition of Real Human Bodies announced today "I Quit"--a smoking cessation program in partnership with the American Cancer Society. The American Lung Association and the American Heart Association of Massachusetts are also joining with BODY WORLDS 2 at the Museum of Science, Boston to draw attention to the effects of smoking on the human body.

Starting November, the "I Quit" display located within the BODY WORLDS 2 exhibit, features a multimedia smoking cessation installation that incorporates the memorable PSA by the late actor, Yul Brynner. Prior to his death from lung cancer, he announced on national television, "I want to make a commercial and say, now that I am gone, I tell you don't smoke, whatever you do, just don't smoke." The display also includes pledge cards for visitors intending to give up smoking, a repository where visitors can leave their last packs of cigarettes, and take-home information.

At the Museum of Science through January 7, 2007, the BODY WORLDS 2 exhibition explores health science, anatomy, and physiology through the study of real human bodies preserved through a process called Plastination. Visitors to the exhibit have the opportunity to consider the effects of individual lifestyle choices by comparing healthy and diseased organs -- such as the blackened lungs of a smoker next to healthy lungs.

Dr. Angelina Whalley, a licensed physician and the creative and conceptual designer of the BODY WORLDS exhibitions notes, "Many visitors to the exhibition reported that they had tried everything but only stopped after seeing the smoker's lungs." When visitors started leaving their packs of cigarettes on the lung display, Dr. Whalley realized a more formal smoking cessation program linked with the exhibit could have great impact. "I wanted to unite the American Cancer Society and Yul Brynner's message to the donor's lungs to inspire people to give up smoking. Each rejected pack marked a victory by one person against nicotine addiction," she said.

While many smokers believe that it is too late to quit, quitting has both immediate as well as long-term health benefits. Smoking harms nearly every organ of the body, causing many diseases and reducing the health of smokers in general, concluded the 2004 Health Consequences of Smoking report by the Surgeon General. The American Cancer Society calls it the single most preventable cause of premature death in the United States. Secondhand smoke also causes thousands of deaths each year in healthy nonsmokers and has grave consequences for children exposed to cigarette smoke. By stopping smoking, or better yet never starting, individuals and the larger society all benefit.

Presentations by Museum educators and talks given by the American Lung Association and the American Heart Association will complement the "I Quit" campaign. For more information on this campaign and the BODY WORLDS 2 exhibit, please visit http://www.mos.org/bodyworlds.

Additional information for the American Cancer Society and the Great American Smokeout, which takes place annually in November can be found at http://www.cancer.org. Information on the American Heart Association is at http://www.americanheart.org and the American Lung Association at http://www.lungma.org.

Source: Business Wire

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