Parents have branded an NHS-backed anti-smoking campaign 'sexist' as they claim it says quitting smoking will make women more attractive but men richer.
The 'patronising' Stop Smoking London adverts which are featured across the capital were spotted in a pharmacy in East Dulwich, London, by dad-of-two Alex Chambers.
But the 37-year-old teacher was disappointed when he noticed that when it came to representing the benefits of quitting for males and females the adverts dramatically differed.
Adverts appeared to show two men celebrating being able to run a 10K and saving up for a dream holiday. Meanwhile women delighted in having better skin and fresher breath.
Against a tagline of 'amazing things happen when you quit smoking', one poster showing a surprised woman read: "OMG your skin looks fantastic..."
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A second poster with a female model appearing to pout said: "#GoodbyeFagBreath."
Alex highlighted the posters online with the sarcastic comment: "MEN: Give up smoking and you'll be fitter and you'll have more money. WOMEN: Give up smoking and you'll be more attractive."
The photos caught the attention of mum and psychologist Jennifer Toll, 34, who was aghast at the 'blatant sexism' displayed in the 'bizarre' adverts.
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Jennifer, who is the founder of gender-empowering clothing brand Not Just A Princess, said: "I was surprised because it was so blatant. It just looked like a massive oversight to me that they hadn't realised what they were saying [to women]. It is really blatant.
"I expect it of some more commercial companies, so I guess I was surprised that the NHS, being so brilliant as they are, had let it get through. It is saying that your skin and your attractiveness is versus your ability to run - it's just so different to each gender.
"I think I would have felt a bit insulted by the posters if I was an actual smoker. I think I would have thought, hang on a minute, that's quite a big difference between men and women.
"I think I would have found it patronising that the main reason to stop smoking is because of my attractiveness. I think that there are a lot of examples of this very, very subtle and generally accepted sexism all around us.
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"My eyes have been opened to it after having a daughter because I started noticing that there are subtle differences [in the way the genders are handled]. There are people out there who will say 'it's too PC' and 'why are you worried, that's what women do like'.
"But what I'm trying to say, is if [appearance] is all we're going to be offered as women, you've really got to balance it between appealing to a target group and making it so blatant.
"It's just so bizarre. All they would have had to do is switch up the images, so you've got a man who also wants to have better breath and a woman who wants to run as well.
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"In that particular post they probably didn't even realise [how it came across]. I don't think the people that put that together are inherently sexist individuals. They probably didn't even realise they were promoting quite different aspirations for men and women.
"I think they would have gone with general conventions of societal expectations of what men and women should want and never thought for one second that they were restricting aspirations by promoting it."
The 'Amazing Things Happen' campaign from Stop Smoking London is a combined effort by 31 London boroughs to encourage smokers to quit.
Teacher Alex had visited his local pharmacy last week when he spotted the posters on display in an aisle. Since becoming a dad, Alex admits he has snapped photographs of gender bias and claims he finds evidence of it at least once a week.
Alex, who lives in East Dulwich, said: "When I first saw it, I thought there you go, there's your classic gender distinction there. Then I saw the two below and I was half-hoping something was going to prove me wrong.
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"I saw the one about the woman with the breath, the man saving money to go on holiday. I thought it was a bit different, but then I stopped because the bad breath is still about how you come across to other people.
"That poster is not about having good skin, it's purely for other people to find you more attractive. It's not for your own benefit. No matter what anyone tries to argue, those female posters are about being aesthetically more pleasing and conforming to those expectations.
"The bad breath one is also about being appealing to other people, certainly not being repellent to other people, whereas both the male ones were things where the man would get something out of it."
Stop Smoking London and the Association of Directors of Public Health were contacted for comment.
A spokesperson for the campaign said: "This campaign highlights the positive short-term benefits of giving up smoking and was created following extensive research with smokers in London aged between 25 and 40.
"Our research found that people in our target audience were aspirational, motivated by status and social norms were key, so maintaining healthy looks, appearing successful, financial success, having 'the best' or appearing to have 'the best' was absolutely crucial for them. They were also most receptive to positive health messages and images.
"This insight was used to create the messaging and artwork for the campaign, which signposts people to online and telephone support. This is the first stage of the campaign and future messaging and artwork will show images of men instead of women regarding better appearance, and women instead of men in respect of improved fitness.
"The campaign has been well received and is achieving strong outcomes in helping people to quit. For example, during the first 8 weeks of the campaign being live, 8,624 people clicked on a campaign advert and visited our website for advice and support.
"In addition, 61 per cent of our website audience is aged 25-44yrs, so the campaign is stimulating interest among the target, and we have received 1,000 unique views on a page where people can find their local stop smoking service.
"Clearly this campaign wasn't intended to offend anyone and we apologise if it has."
Featured Image Credit: Kennedy News and MediaTopics: News, UK, Smoking, Health