TV campaign urges parents to quit smoking

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NEW YORK, March 30 (UPI) -- Parents who smoke should think seriously about the impact their death would have on their children, a media campaign by New York City health officials says.

About 400,000 New York City adult smokers live with a child. Smoking takes the lives of 8,000 adults each year in the city, many of whom leave children behind, the ad campaign says.

The television ad features a terrified young boy in a train station who has lost his mother and begins to cry. This painful moment shows the viewer how vulnerable a child is when a parent risks their life by continuing to smoke -- and how scary the death of a parent would be, Dr. Thomas R. Frieden, health commissioner for New York City says.

"When parents smoke, they put their child's future in danger," Frieden said in a statement. "Every parent fears dying young and leaving children behind, but parents who smoke are more likely to have this nightmare come true. Smoking can kill you and it can harm your child as well. We urge all New Yorkers to quit smoking -- if you can't do it for yourself, do it for your family."

The campaign was originally produced in Australia by Quit Victoria and was adapted by the health department to air in New York City.