Cigarettes will kill 7,200 New Yorkers this year. In an effort to reduce these numbers, the New York City Health Department recently launched a bold, new advertising campaign which coincides with the annual NYC Quits smoking patch and gum giveaway that takes place until March 24.

The goals of this campaign are to educate smokers about the long-term suffering tied to smoking, reminding smokers that dying from smoking is rarely quick and never painless, and offer a poignant reminder that smoking can cause suffering every minute of every day.

Instead of focusing on death as a consequence of smoking, however, these new gruesome and straightforward advertisements highlight the suffering that can result from smoking. RIFT Platinum They exhibit a man painfully suffering from emphysema and a female stroke victim.

"Our conversations with smokers suggest that they are more motivated to quit by the suffering from smoking-related illnesses than by the risk of dying," said Farley in a press release from the New York City Health Department. "Each year thousands of New Yorkers will suffer from smoking-induced strokes, heart attacks, debilitating lung diseases and cancers."

Farley says the NYC Health Department decided to highlight life-altering problems, such as emphysema and stroke, in the campaign in hopes of encouraging more smokers to quit.

"There's a lot of research that shows smokers respond best to emotionally evocative advertising," Russell Sciandra, New York State director for advocacy for the American Cancer Society. "You need to penetrate a pretty thick shell that smokers have developed to protect themselves from what they already know. The happy ads, the funny ads tend to roll off their backs."

Sciandra pins smoking as the killer in NYC. "There is no other biological, chemical, or physical agent that causes as much death as tobacco," he says.

Since 2003, the NYC Health Department has distributed nicotine patches and gum free of charge to approximately 250,000 NYC smokers during this annual program enabling an estimated 82,000 smokers to quit.

The agency's Facebook page, "NYC Quits," has become an online smoking cessation support network with more than 5,000 fans.

According to the NYC Health Department, someone in the United States suffers from a stroke every 40 seconds. Cigarette smoking can nearly double a person's risk for stroke by increasing dangerous plaque build-up inside arteries, which can later rupture causing clots to block blood flow to the brain. rift gold The NYC Health Department says more than 1 million Americans are currently suffering the effects of stroke caused by smoking.

In addition, four million Americans suffer from emphysema as a result of smoking. Many of the 7,000 chemicals found in cigarettes permanently damage the small air sacs in the lungs causing emphysema. This debilitating lung disease makes it very difficult to breathe and keep up with daily activities, including simple tasks such as walking up stairs.

Here are some tips from the NYC Health Department for smokers who are trying to quit:
- Prepare yourself. Make a list to establish reasons why you are quitting and a plan for dealing with situations that may tempt you to light up.RIFT Platinum
- Pick a quit date and get ride of all ashtrays, lighters, and cigarettes.
- Make your home and car smoke-free.
- Find support and encouragement. Ask for support from your family, friends, and co-workers.Rift Gold
- Find a quit buddy. Ask another smoker to quit with you or find a past smoker who can offer helpful advice and support during your process.