DoH launches Smokefree TV ad campaign

The Department of Health (DoH) has launched a new advertising campaign as part of the Smokefree initiative.

Supported by radio, poster and press activity, the television adverts are based on the subject of smokers’ relatives and the worries their loved one’s habit causes them.

According to the department, it is aimed at encouraging smokers to consider the “strong emotional effects” of the vice and the extent to which it causes distress to their friends and family.

The advert involves a youngster who confronts things she is scared of – such as clowns, thunderstorms and spiders – but then sees her mum smoking and says the only thing she is really afraid of is her parent dying.

The DoH maintains that those who decide to give up smoking are up to four times more likely to succeed if they are supported by the NHS and use nicotine patches or gum to control cravings.

It is thought by many commentators that the smoking ban, which banned smoking in indoor public places in July 2007, may have also helped a number of people to quit.