New York State Tobacco Control Program cessation ads
Also: NYS Smokers' Quitline ads · 1-866-NY-QUITS
New York State Department of Health antismoking media campaign (US-NY), running since 2003 with "intense" graphic and emotional cessation ads that end with the NYS Smokers' Quitline number. A 2010 flight showed a surgeon removing fatty deposits from a 32-year-old smoker's aorta and a child lost in a train station.
- Years
- 2003–now
- Country
- United States
- Budget
- About $75 million on paid advertising 2003-2012 (Prev Chronic Dis 2012); 2010 flight funded by a $1.8 million federal ARRA grant.
- Topic
- Tobacco
- Asks people to
- Seek helpStop
- Strategy
- Cessation service linkFear appealTestimonial
- Channel
- TV
- Audience
- Adults
Evidence
ObservationalPositive
From 2003 to 2009, smokers' exposure to state ads rose from 6% to 45%, 30-day quit intentions from 26% to 35%, and quit attempts from 46% to 62%; cigarettes per day fell from 15 to 11; adult prevalence fell 18% in New York vs 5% nationally (Davis 2012).
Sponsor (who paid)
- New York State Department of Health, Tobacco Control Program State local government, funder and creator
Credits (who made it)
- RTI International Research evaluation, 2003-2012 source
Related campaigns
- NYC Health Department graphic anti-smoking ads 2006–now
- Tips From Former Smokers 2012–now
Sources
- Davis KC et al. Antismoking media campaign and smoking cessation outcomes, New York State, 2003-2009. Prev Chronic Dis 2012;9:E40 evaluation · 2012 · PMID 22261250
- Roswell Park: State Health Department Launches Hard-Hitting Smoking Cessation Public Service Announcements news · 2010
- NYS Tobacco Control Program independent evaluation report, September 2009 evaluation · 2009
- Farrelly MC et al. Promoting calls to a quitline: quantifying the influence of message theme, strong negative emotions and graphic images in television advertisements. Tob Control 2011 evaluation · 2011 · DOI 10.1136/tc.2010.042234 · PMID 21289028
- Bauer JE et al. Giving away free nicotine medications and a cigarette substitute (Better Quit) to promote calls to a quitline. J Public Health Manag Pract 2006 reference · 2006 · DOI 10.1097/00124784-200601000-00012 · PMID 16340517
Research notes
US-NY. Quitline is run by Roswell Park. Credits checked 2026-10-22 against fetched pages: RTI (PMC: Prev Chronic Dis 2012, RTI authors, analyses 2003-2009; the 2003-2012 span also reflects RTI's independent evaluation reports for the program, not re-checked here). Later flights include "Reverse Heart Attack"/"Reverse Lung Cancer" (years unverified). Ad library search: "New York State Department of Health", "NYS Smokers' Quitline", "NYSDOH". Evaluation sources added 2026-10-22 (citation snowballing / helpline pass): Farrelly 2011, Bauer 2006; evidence level and outcome unchanged. Evaluation links reviewed 2026-10-22: Bauer 2006 (free nicotine patch and Better Quit giveaways promoted to drive quitline calls) set to reference; it evaluates the giveaway promotions, not the state cessation TV ads. Evidence unchanged.
Record cases/ny-tobacco-control-program-media.json, updated 2026-10-22· Link to this campaign