New York - Brooklyn based Rofeh Cholim Cancer Society has teamed up with NYU Medical Center for a massive anti smoking campaign that may be the first anti smoking initiative specifically targeting the Chareidi community.
Aside from placing ads in many Jewish newspapers and distributing flyers within the Jewish community, a powerful two minute video reminds smokers that their decision to light up is a decision is not just a personal one but something that has detrimental consequences for the ones who matter most. Children of smokers can find themselves in the tragic circumstance of having a parent who is either dealing with or has died from lung cancer and may one day decide to emulate their parents by becoming smokers themselves.
Citing statistics that indicate that tobacco kills 5.4 million people annually, the campaign brings hammers home the point that even within the frum community, cigarettes not only kill people, but bring devastation and heartache to the ones they love. The toxic effects of secondhand smoke kills 50,000 people every year in addition to being linked to asthma, colds, ear infections and sudden infant death syndrome.
“Over the past few years, research has shown that young teenagers are lighting up more than in the past,” said RCCS spokesman Yoli Brill in an interview “It has become the norm for any bochur becoming engaged to hand out cigarettes and young teenagers have no problem getting cigarettes which many times is the start of problems with drugs and alcohol as well. Previous research has shown that 3,000 kids start smoking every year because they saw a parent smoke.”
The message from RCCS is a simple one: Quit while you are still ahead. You will be glad you did.
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