In “Auctioneer” we auction off the life of a teen who’s begun using smokeless tobacco, in the unique auctioneer selling style, to the different deadly diseases and outcomes that come from chewing tobacco.

There aren't many significant regulations specific to healthcare communications, but in Florida anti-tobacco efforts are working against one giant obstacle: the huge budget that tobacco companies spend to attract new smokers. Big tobacco companies spend roughly $500M/year, while Tobacco Free Florida has less than $4M to get their message heard.

Tobacco companies need to replace the 1,300 people who die each day from tobacco-related diseases. How do they do it? By targeting youth. It’s the best way to recruit new smokers.

Of course, everyone knows that smoking can cause serious health risks... eventually. But to teens, eventually might as well be never. We needed to communicate the facts about tobacco in a way that reminded teens that what they do now affects them NOW.

The urgent style of the auctioneer is typical of what auctions sound like in the United States.

SFX: A crowd gathering AUCTIONEER: Next on the auction block we got a 15-year old boy who’s just started chewing tobacco this week. We’ll start the bidding at gum disease. AUCTIONEER :30 SFX: A crowd gathering AUCTIONEER: Next on the auction block we got a 15-year old boy who’s just started chewing tobacco this week. We’ll start the bidding at gum disease. We got gum disease at 15! 15! 15! 15 years old with gum disease! Give me 15! 15 years old with gum disease! Now 17! 17! Who’ll give me oral lesions at 17? 17! 17! I’ve got oral lesions at 17! Now 21! 21! 21! Got rotting teeth at 21! 21! 21! Yes! Got rotting teeth at 21! Now 25! 25! 25! And I’ve got Cancer at 25! 25! Now 26! 26! Got chemo at 26! Now 30! Now 30! Cancer’s back at 30! He’s gone! He’s dead at 30! VO: Don’t let tobacco own you. SFX: TFF Mnemonic VO: Get the facts at thefactsnow.com brought to you by Tobacco Free Florida