CHILDREN dressed as ducklings who abandon their leader when it takes up smoking will appear in television advertisements aimed at dissuading teenagers from taking up the habit.
The adverts, due to appear for the first time today, are part of a year-long campaign by the Hong Kong Council on Smoking and Health (COSH) to 'smash the false images of smoking conveyed in cigarette adverts'.
The campaign follows COSH findings that children are as young as nine when they start smoking and that about 20 per cent of 16-year-olds are regular smokers.
The theme of the $1.5 million campaign is 'Intelligent X' - stressing it is intelligent to say no to smoking.
T-shirts, caps and stationery will also be given to school students as part of the campaign.
Ten commercials aimed at young people will be shown on television and in cinemas throughout the year.
One of the first three to be shown tells the story of ducklings who choose to abandon their puffing leader. Children in duckling costumes dance along with their leader until it tries cigarettes.
