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Read the press release here.

Health Department Launches Graphic Campaign Against Holiday Binge Drinking

By DNAinfo Staff on November 30, 2010 2:41pm

One of the Department of Health's new signs in its campaign against excessive drinking this holiday season.
One of the Department of Health's new signs in its campaign against excessive drinking this holiday season.
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Department of Health

By Jennifer Glickel

DNAinfo Reporter/Producer

MANHATTAN — A poster showing a well-dressed woman passed out alone on a dingy staircase with her belongings strewn beside her is part of a new campaign by the Health Department to stop binge drinking during the holidays.

The signs, urging New Yorkers to "stop drinking while you’re still thinking," will appear in city subways throughout the holiday season, the DOH said in a release Tuesday.

"Alcohol takes a devastating toll on our health and well being," New York City Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas Farley said in a statement.

"New Yorkers are surrounded by ads selling alcohol, and the messages are enticing. Beer, wine and liquor may look like passports to sophistication and romance. But even two extra drinks can turn a good time into a disaster," Farley said.

The Department of Health is launching a campaign this holiday season to discourage excessive drinking.
The Department of Health is launching a campaign this holiday season to discourage excessive drinking.
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Department of Health

The poster with the young woman has a tag line reading, "Two drinks ago you could still get yourself home."

Another sign shows a young man in a suit staring into the camera with bloodied cuts on his face and the words, "Two drinks ago you would have walked away." 

The campaign comes after the Health Department reported this month that excess drinking caused 70,000 emergency room visits by New York City adults last year.