Synopsis:

The Quit series of five programmes has been designed to raise awareness of a range of issues surrounding cigarette smoking and legal controls on the use of tobacco. Using personal testimonies, the audience is introduced to the impact smoking has on people’s health and lifestyle. Smokers and non-smokers alike discuss how addiction to cigarettes has influenced their lives or those of their families. The series also focuses on how tobacco companies use marketing and advertising techniques to influence people’s smoking behaviour.

Programme 1: A Hole in my Neck*
Nigel and Chris are two middle-aged men who have smoked since their teens. In this programme, they discuss how they felt about being diagnosed as suffering from smoking-related cancers, and share their thoughts about smoking and hopes for the future.

*Students should be warned that this film contains several short sequences showing surgical procedures.

00.00 – 04.40
Nigel smoked for twenty years without giving it much thought. He’s been diagnosed with cancer of the throat caused by smoking and has had to have his larynx removed. He now speaks through a hole in his neck. Chris has smoked since his teens. Most of his mates smoked and it was the macho thing to do. Some gave up but he didn’t and now finds he has cancer of the tongue and neck caused by smoking. Both men tell their stories, talk about how they feel and discuss the impact of their conditions on their lives. A surgeon explains the technicalities of the operations used to remove the different kinds of cancer.