X Alarm: A Revolutionary Cigarette Filter Design

Designers Ladan Zadfar and Mohammad Farshad Innovate to Highlight the Dangers of Smoking

The X Alarm is not just another cigarette filter. At first glance, it appears ordinary, but as the smoker puffs, a sketch becomes visible on the filter's top part. These sketches, covered with a colorless ink, depict various things affected by smoking, such as a heart, a lung, or gender symbols. The aim is not just to filter smoke, but to make smokers think about the impact of their habit.

The production process for the X Alarm is simple, requiring only an additional step in the cigarette production line. The filters are stamped with the colorless ink, covering the air holes and directing the smoke into the sketch area. This process makes the sketch clearer with each puff. The stamping machine has several heads, each with a different sketch, ensuring a variety in the sketches seen by smokers.

The X Alarm is designed to fit any cigarette filter brand. The sketches are randomly distributed in cigarette packs, ensuring a new message each time a smoker lights up. The designers believe that this constant reminder during the smoking process will make smokers reflect on the damage they are inflicting on their bodies.

The idea for the X Alarm was submitted for the World Design Impact Prize 2015-2016 and has since won the Silver A' Social Design Award in 2017. This award is given to designs that display outstanding expertise, innovation, and introduce positive feelings, amazement, and wonder. The X Alarm certainly fits this description, with its simple yet impactful design aimed at raising awareness about the dangers of smoking.

While the creation of the X Alarm posed challenges, the designers were determined to find an effective way to remind smokers of the harm they were causing to themselves. The result is a design that not only serves its functional purpose but also delivers a powerful message. The X Alarm is more than a cigarette filter; it's a wake-up call for smokers worldwide.