The medium that delivers the next message

Passing through the airport the other day, I bought a New York Times and the clerk kindly put the newspaper in this plastic bag.  I was appalled later when I saw this advertisement on the bag.

Irony arrived when I took out the newspaper and found this article by Matt Richtel.  The lede:

Electronic cigarettes appear to be safer than ordinary cigarettes for one simple — and simply obvious — reason: people don’t light up and smoke them.

With the e-cigarettes, there is no burning tobacco to produce myriad new chemicals, including some 60 carcinogens.

But new research suggests that, even without a match, some popular e-cigarettes get so hot that they, too, can produce a handful of the carcinogens found in cigarettes and at similar levels.

And later in the article:

[N]ew research suggests how potential health risks are emerging as the multibillion-dollar e-cigarette business rapidly evolves, and how regulators are already struggling to keep pace.

Which sends a stronger message to the young audience targeted by these e-cigarette companies, a sex-laden graphic with a subtext about rebellious behavior, or a thoughtful newspaper story.  Not even close, no?