NYC gives out nicotine patches, gum NEW YORK, March 2 (UPI) -- New York City Health Department officials said they are distributing nicotine patches and gum to go with its ad campaign warning about smoking and cancer. "The nicotine patch and gum program and hard-hitting, graphic education campaigns we've run over the last seven years have made a tremendous impact on smoking rates in New York City and have helped thousands of people quit smoking and improve their health," Dr. Thomas Farley, health commissioner of New York City, said in a statement. Last year alone, almost 40,000 smokers participated in the program. The ad campaign visually depicts three common cancers that smoking causes and describes the low survival rates of these cancers, Farley said. The campaign's take-home message is "Quitting is much less painful," Farley said. The campaign's graphic images focus on esophageal cancer, pancreatic cancer and stomach cancer and the ads show the extensive treatment for each of these cancers such as esophageal resection, partial stomach removal and radiation, which can be invasive and painful, Farley said. Ads are scheduled to be run on television, online and in local newspapers until March 16. Smoking is still the leading cause of premature preventable deaths in New York City, and although the adult smoking rate is at an all-time low of 14 percent, an estimated 850,000 New Yorkers still smoke, putting themselves and those they love at risk of disease, disability and death, Farley added.