Will cartoons help smokers quit?

Learn how to identify the triggers of your smoking. Courtesy: Quit

The animated videos show a range of circumstances they hope any smoker will recognise. Source: Supplied

AN anti-smoking organisation is taking a radically different approach to persuading Australians not to light up.

In a dramatic departure from the gruesome images used in existing campaigns, Quit Victoria has employed lighthearted animated videos with a cheerful tone.

The cartoon series, entitled "Triggers", is made up of four short videos that suggest ways smokers can curb their cravings.

The campaign identifies Saturday night as a key moment when smokers trying to quit may fail. Source: Supplied

How to deal with the Saturday night trigger. Courtesy: Quit

So will the campaign actually work, or is it just silly?

The first begins with a voiceover saying: "Ever noticed how some things trigger your smoking? Coffee, parties, smoking buddies, stress and after meals.

"Ask yourself, what are your triggers? Everyone's different, so you need to work out your own ways of dealing with them. Thinking ahead and being prepared is the key to quitting for good."

The ads will be carefully targeted across all platforms, with online adverts pushed out around the time of morning coffee breaks, radio ads played on Saturday nights before people go out, and images placed in the back of taxis, where passengers might face stress over traffic.

Quit Victoria acting director Craig Sinclair said: "We found that more than 80 per cent of smokers have tried to quit. Most have had at least eight attempts.

"It can be hard to stay quit due to addiction to nicotine, living with a smoker, negative withdrawal symptoms and these common triggers.

The "coffee trigger" animation will be targeted to coincide with mid-morning work breaks. Source: Supplied

How to deal with the coffee trigger. Courtesy: Quit

"We want smokers to understand what their triggers are so they can be prepared to manage them."

He said the cute drawings will stop people from "self-exempting" because they don't look like an actor, and instead they will identify with the circumstance portrayed.

The anti-tobacco group's research shows that having friends who smoke is the trigger people find hardest to resist. Women are most likely to pick up a cigarette when under stress, while men tend to crave cigarettes during work breaks.

The organisation hopes the campaign will be imitated across other states and at an international level.

But it insists the new style does not negate the impact of plain packaging and graphic images currently used to deter people from smoking.

The animations will be placed in taxis, where people might become stressed over traffic. Source: Supplied

How to deal with the stress trigger. Courtesy: Quit

"There is no question that in our history of creating anti-tobacco ads, the most confronting need to continue," said Mr Sinclair.

"These campaigns have been remarkably successful, but 15.1 per cent of Australians still smoke.

"We need a two-pronged approach, with hard-hitting attempts to motivate people but also things like this to assist smokers in quitting.

"It's a key departure from previous campaigns, designed to help them quit and see it as a process, not just one step."