The sounds of the man coughing and wheezing in one commercial is disturbing. But, that's exactly the point. It's one of three ads put out by the Department of Health to stop people from smoking.
The characters in the commercials are real and their stories are emotional. Those at Monday's news conference are hoping they'll catch your attention.
"We want these ads to be hard hitting. We want them to be emotional. We want them to get noticed. That's what they're there to do," says Julianne Hart, with the American Heart Association. "It's been proven that these work and will drive people to take action."
The ads encourage smokers to call the New York State Smokers' Quitline. That number is 1-866-NY-QUITS.
