Halloween anti-smoking ad launch

A Halloween-themed TV advert aimed at "spooking" parents into giving up smoking has been launched.

The Department of Health ad is based on a child claiming she is not frightened of things such as spiders.

But then at the end she admits she is scared of something - her mother dying from smoking.

It is the latest in a series of hard-hitting adverts to discourage smoking. While numbers are dropping, over a fifth of adults still smoke.

Spiders

NHS stop smoking adviser Jen Anderson said: "I speak to lots of parents who know that their smoking has a negative impact on their children, not just through second-hand smoke but because their kids are scared for their mum or dad�s health."

The TV advert will be broadcast from Friday evening and will be accompanied by a poster campaign.

It opens on a darkened child's bedroom where a young girl is heard saying "I�m not scared of the dark".

The ad then cuts through a series of other images such as a crawling spider and the leering face of a clown, with the young girl saying "I'm not scared of spiders", "I�m not scared of clowns".

The ad ends with a group of young mums who are chatting together and smoking. The girl says "I�m scared of my mum smoking".

One of the mums then turns and smiles at the camera and the girl says "I�m scared that my mum will die".

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