Vanessa's story supports the suggestion that people only accept the health message when they see a big personal advantage in it, and not because of general warnings of gloom and doom if they don't. Her husband had threatened to leave her if she didn't lose weight. She lost the weight, but they separated anyway, not surprisingly. An ultimatum like that isn't likely to bring a couple closer. Her story is also why doctors like me have tried new methods of persuading people to change their lifestyles.
People are far better motivated to change if they are given a positive message.
That's partly because they think it will happen to others, not themselves, but partly because they don't like the negative message. So instead we concentrate on the positive aspects of stopping smoking. Or you will smell better . Or you will have far fewer wrinkles . The Canadian government has forced tobacco companies to cover half the surface of cigarette packets with warnings about cancer and death, and are using pictures of diseased lungs to reinforce them.