Smoking ads have a long,
illustrious history

Pfizer's new smoking pill Chantix, a one-year-old feature in its marketing plan, will see a media revamp this period, says the Chicago Tribune.

Chantix is the first prescription aid to smoking cessation to find approval in nearly a decate, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. While most Americans with health insurance are unlikely to get coverage for Chantix (only one in four are eligible for smoking cessation treatment), the pill is cheaper than a pack of cigarettes, according to Pfizer.

Chantix, which launched last summer, costs $3 per day for a prescription. Pfizer compares this to a pack of cigarettes which, in Manhattan or some Chicago bars, can cost anywhere between $8 to $10. In areas where cigarette tax is less severe, a pack can still cost $3 or $4. Pfizer's Director of Marketing Terri O'Gorman calls the comparison "the difference between putting money into making yourself sick or putting money into making yourself healthy."
Pfizer has been pushing the pill with unbranded ads toting the slogan, "My time to quit." The campaign website, www.mytimetoquit.com, includes a calculator for gauging the amount of money individual smokers spend on their vice of choice.

Sales for Chantix were posted at $162 million in the first quarter, the bulk of which came from the U.S. Pfizer will begin a new marketing effort for the pill this summer.