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Liverpool body parts exhibition shocks thousands into giving up smoking

Hannah Aubrey takes a look at a heart as a result of smoking to show young and old about the perils of smoking at the Bodies exhibition, Liverpool.

Hannah Aubrey takes a look at a heart as a result of smoking

“In fact, cigarettes are one of the few products sold legally that have the potential to harm and even kill a person over time if they are used as intended.

“Smokers hear these facts and figures numerous times, yet find it very difficult to quit their life- threatening habit.

“The exhibit at Bodies Revealed in Liverpool has been so effective in helping those who want to give up because smokers can see, first hand, what the dangerous tars in cigarette smoke do to their lungs.

“Seeing lungs that are black, misshapen and showing signs of internal damage has led thousands of former smokers to leave their cigarettes in a case which the exhibition has designed to collect them in.

“It has been quite inspirational watching visitors examine the blackened lungs and then immediately taking a packet of cigarettes out of their pockets and putting them into the glass case.”

The lungs at the exhibition are one of the show’s most popular attractions.

But the purpose of the exhibition is not just about enabling people to see the intricate inner workings of the body like never before – the bodies are frozen in time by an innovative preservation process, pioneered by Dr Glover, which uses liquid silicone rubber.

Project director of Bodies Revealed, Dan Thomas, said it was also about encouraging people to look after their “unique” bodies.

He said: “The exhibition is designed to promote healthier living choices, by demonstrating the effects that disease and unhealthy lifestyles have on the body.

“One of the most effective displays has been the sets of lungs which show the effects of smoking.

“The lungs have been popular with many visitors as they can see directly how certain lifestyle choices can make quite obvious and life-threatening changes to our bodies.

“The exhibition at Bodies Revealed demonstrates how healthy lungs can be damaged by smoking cigarettes.

“Seeing the differences between a healthy pair of lungs and a smoker’s lungs promotes understanding and offers fantastic body education.

“Unlike models or pictures that idealise the body through the eyes of an artist, the lungs at this exhibition will show them as they really exist.

“It is easy for someone to look past the cigarette pack images, but when they are sitting right next to a real pair of damaged lungs it is more difficult to ignore.

“By seeing the actual damaged lungs, along with the cigarette package imagery, some guests at Bodies have told us that they were persuaded to throw their cigarettes in the bin straight away.

“The display shows how poisonous chemicals in tobacco smoke such as nicotine, carbon monoxide and tar can damage healthy lungs.

“Hopefully, the lungs have inspired people of all ages to think positively about their own body and promote healthy living choices.”

The display, Bodies Revealed, has been criticised by some as being in poor taste because it uses real bodies.

But organisers say the display of more than 200 actual human bodies and specimens are “meticulously dissected and respectfully displayed”.

In earlier interviews, Dr Glover said that all the bodies used had been donated with the knowledge that they would be used for educational purposes.

Dr Glover added: “Bodies Revealed is all about education and is a demonstration of the complexity, intricacy and sophistication of our organs and how they work.

“We want Bodies Revealed to inspire people of all ages to think positively about their own body and promote healthy living choices.

“If you’ve struggled to explain to your children about the harmful effects of smoking, bring them here and let them see for themselves what terrible damage it does to the lungs.”

Liverpool’s public health chief Dr Paula Grey, director of Public Health Liverpool, commented on the exhibition and its help towards the battle against smoking.

She said: “While most people know that smoking causes ill health, actually seeing the damage caused to lungs makes it more real and helps motivate smokers to quit.”

For help to stop smoking, call: 0800 195 2131 or visit www. stopsmoking.org.uk.

Bodies Revealed has been showing at Liverpool ONE since September 1.

It closes on January 2. Doors are open seven days a week

Read more: Liverpool Echo http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-news/local-news/2012/12/21/liverpool-body-parts-exhibition-shocks-thousands-into-giving-up-smoking-100252-32471077/#ixzz2FhNzl1gh

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