Talk Bronx New York

City Unveils Another Hard-Hitting ‘Don’t Smoke’ Ad

The star of the Health Department antismoking campaign’s latest ad is Marie from the Bronx, whose smoking-related illness led to a number of amputations.

First, the city introduced us to the man who could only talk through a hole in his throat. Then, we met the sad children of dying smokers. Now, we meet the woman who is missing four fingers (and bits of at least three more).

In its increasingly graphic (and perhaps effective?) antismoking campaign, the city’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene continues to highlight the perils of extreme smoking-related health conditions. In this case, it is profiling a Bronx woman — Marie, who has had nearly 20 amputations — to coincide with its free nicotine patch giveaway that will last from now until May 1.

A series of somewhat gruesome television commercials shows close-ups of Marie’s amputated fingers, shaded out images of the human anatomy representing her amputated body parts, a sinister bone saw and a mysterious set of clippers. The bone saw and clippers are the actual ones used in Marie’s amputations. The photos of the medical instruments were taken at her doctor’s office.

According to the Health Department, Marie developed Buerger’s disease, a condition that narrows arteries, reducing blood flow to the arms and legs. She has lost parts of most fingers, as well as a leg and a part of one foot. In the commercial she recounts going to the emergency room because she was in so much pain. She pauses, then says, “And that’s when the amputations began.”

The advertisements began today on television, radio and the Internet, in taxi cabs and in the New York City subway cars. Read more..

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Xochitil Casanova, 19 (l.), with 1-month-old Mayte, and Rosalie Delgado, 19, are counseled by Romilda Grella

‘Babies’ Having Babies Statistics Grow In The Bronx 

Welcome to the bleak world of teen pregnancy in the South Bronx.

When Maria was smuggled across the Mexican border four years ago, she was hoping for a better life.

But Maria (not her real name), a pretty 17-year-old, didn’t enroll in school or learn English. Instead, she stayed in her sister’s apartment watching television. She eventually found work packing aromatic candles in a factory, where she met her now-18-year-old boyfriend.

With her mother living in Mexico and her father dead, Maria was eager to start her own family. She saw plenty of teenage mothers in her South Bronx neighborhood, became pregnant and moved in with her boyfriend’s family.

Without citizenship or an education, her chances of escaping the poverty plaguing the South Bronx are slim. As a teenage mother, her prospects are even bleaker. But in the South Bronx, Maria’s story is fairly common.

The South Bronx has the highest rate of teen pregnancy in New York City, according to the city Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, ahead of Central Harlem and North and Central Brooklyn.

Fifteen percent of girls aged 15-19 became pregnant in the South Bronx in 2005, compared to 9.4% in all of New York City.

The borough’s rate is double the national average.

“One of the things you have in the South Bronx is a high concentration of poverty — teenagers who have low access to jobs and education,” said Robert Leibson Hawkins, an assistant professor of social work at New York University. “Whenever you have that type of environment, you wind up having high rates of teen pregnancy.”

Hawkins explained that while most teens are aware of birth control, they don’t always use it. Since there is a lack of jobs and few of the youngsters attend college, teenage pregnancy doesn’t carry the same stigma often found in other communities. Read more..

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