A new ad campaign designed to teach adults the dangers of smoking near children is a worthwhile investment on behalf of New York's children.

The state is spending $5 million to publicize health studies that say secondhand smoke accounts for thousands of heart disease and lung cancer deaths every year in the United States. The ads warn: “When you smoke around your kids, they smoke too.”

Critics say the state already restricts smoking more than necessary, and a spokesperson for New York City Citizens Lobbying Against Smoker Harassment called the ads “an intolerance campaign” that exploits children.

New York's Clean Indoor Air Act outlaws smoking in almost all workplaces, restaurants and bars, and some state lawmakers hope to go further and ban smoking at beaches, public parks and playgrounds.

A bill that would ban smoking in cars while children are present has failed for several years to pass the state Legislature.

We would have to examine any proposed laws closely to make sure the limits on adults smoking aren't taken too far, because we would never advocate for what some people actually would like to see: an all-out ban on tobacco.

But a public-service ad campaign makes good sense.

There is no disputing the harmful effects of smoking, and smoking near children exposes them to potentially life-threatening illnesses.

State Assemblywoman Sandra Galef said children are especially vulnerable to smoke because they don't have the opportunity to walk away from it, and that some adults need to be taught the importance of the problem.

We don't think $5 million is too much to spend if it helps educate adults to act more responsibly around children, and we hope this ad campaign helps keep more children from away from secondhand smoke.