Video produced by Kuch Khaas, a group of young artists in Pakistan.

Description of how the video was originally conceived and produced, written by Khurram Hashmi:

CTC-Pak is a coalition of more than 200 civil society organizations from all over Pakistan which bring a range of expertise to the coalition and together present a unified front that is dedicated to the control tobacco consumption in Pakistan.

Among these volunteers, is this amazing group of young artists at Kuch Khaas who use their skills to bring social issues such as this one in a lighter manner to the awareness of present and potential smokers. It was them who came to us with a campaign "Smokeout" idea which includes a charity drive (to be donated for local research work) during the month of May, a dialogue with youth with an intention to formulate a "support group" for quitters and of course, to motivate the to-be quitters, a visualization of your letter.

We, at CTC-Pak, were more than happy to represent their fine work in front of the world especially during our annual WNTD campaign where members every year celebrate WNTD in more than 60 cities of Pakistan through 100+ awareness activities under one flag.

As you can see it, they tried their best to bring your passion to life in the form of this video. And they did it in a week's time with an intention to release it just before World No Tobacco Day.

This is why during the hustle, credit to original author were missed out but it was understood to release a second version post-WNTD to include proper credit which thanks to you now we have in an appropriate form. Once ready, we shall definitely provide you a copy of the video.

We treasure your feedback and make sure the creative team, Kuch Khaas, receive the feedback which is a reward in itself for their efforts to be recognized by none other than THE author himself.

It should be (and it is) us who are thankful to you for your commitment towards this important public health issue which serve as guidelines for us to achieve a better, healthier lifestyle.

Khurram Hashmi, National Coordinator
Coalition for Tobacco Control – Pakistan NCD Alliance – Pakistan
Society for Alternative Media And Research (SAMAR) Islamabad – Pakistan

The video was hosted at the Facebook website of the Kuch Khaas group and in a little over a month now it has 9,657 views.

This is a letter I wrote to Khurram Hashmi who originally let us know about the creation of the video:

I was very surprised and pleased to see the video your group has put together based on my 1984 short article, My cigarette, my friend.

I think the people who produced the video did an excellent job of capturing the essence of the article and has given it a new life to reach a new generation.

Over the past several years I have tried to produce video versions of my numerous articles aimed at helping people who are hooked on cigarettes and other nicotine products to break free from their addiction. My cigarette, my friend, which was always my personal favorite of my articles was one that I just never felt capable of making a video that could capture power of the original written format.

Your group, with its creative use of acting and visualizations did in fact produce a video I always wished I had and I thank you and all involved for that.

You wrote me letting me know that you are going to attach references to the original article into a new version of the video. I am planning on hosting a copy of that video on my website and I will give an honorable mention to your group who put the video together. If you have some description you would like to me use of the people involved in the project let me know.

I hope that people who come across your site and the video take a look at the original article as well as all of the other articles and videos we have made available at WhyQuit.com. All of the materials there are totally free and can help people to quit smoking as well as help young people avoid ever getting trapped into the grip of nicotine addiction.

Once again, thanks to all involved for the great job you all have done.

Joel

• The video "WhyQuit reinforcement materials" discusses how I kind of always wanted to have a video version of "My cigarette my friend?" but never saw it as a feasible option.
• My Cigarette, My Friend - AI Audio
• My Cigarette, My Friend - Joel's original 1984 article