http://gothamist.com/2011/12/30/nyc_to_casual_smokers_quit_or_die.php
Smoking, Nanny Bloomberg likes to remind us, will kill you. But don’t think that your “I only smoke bummed ciggies at parties” routine makes you safe. Oh, no. The Department of Health wants you to know YOU COULD STILL DIE. So they’re launching a print and TV campaign to help “light smokers” become “nonsmokers.” Because you don’t want to die, do you?
According to the city “light smokers” (who smoke less than 10 a day) make up 34 percent of the city’s smoking population. But:
Like heavier smokers, light smokers are at an increased risk of smoking-related death and disease, such as heart attack, stroke, aneurysm and some cancers. Adults who smoke even one to four cigarettes per day have nearly three times the risk for heart disease than that of a non-smoker. Another study in Tobacco Control found that women light smokers, ages 35 to 49, are five times more likely than nonsmokers to develop lung cancer. Men have 3 times the risk. Research also points to an increased risk of mortality for light smokers compared with non-smokers. Among women, in fact, light smokers had a 4- to 6-year average loss of life compared to non-smokers.
You hear that ladies? Those casual puffs are especially killing you. But it doesn’t have to be so (if you don’t want it to). So, through January 15, the city is doing one of its regular free patch and gum programs, this time aimed at the light smoker set. To get yours, call 311 or go click here. Beyond the print ads, the DOH made another commercial for this campaign (not yet online), anyone seen it yet?
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By Garth Johnston in News on December 30, 2011 1:27 PM