Former Smokers Are Back With More Tips to Save Lives
March 28, 2013
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is launching the second year of its “Tips from Former Smokers” advertising campaign that tells the harsh truth about how devastating cigarette smoking truly is.
Read more below the video.
Like the first round of ads, the new ones allow smokers – and those exposed to secondhand smoke – to tell their compelling personal stories. The ads feature:
- Tiffany, who lost her mother when she was 16 to lung cancer, and recently quit smoking herself as her own daughter turned 16 because she did not want her daughter to suffer the way she did.
- Bill, a 40-year-old with diabetes whose smoking led to heart surgery, blindness in one eye, amputation and kidney failure; 'Make a list,” he says. “Put the people you love at the top. Put down your eyes, your legs, your kidneys, and your heart. Now cross off all the things you’re OK with losing because you’d rather smoke.'
- Michael, who suffers from COPD, and is agonizing about how to tell his grandson he may not be around to share his life much longer.
- Nathan, who suffered severe lung damage from secondhand smoke exposure at work.
- And Terrie, who appeared in last year’s ads showing what a head and neck cancer survivor has to do to 'get ready for the day.' In a new ad, she wishes she had recorded her voice before she had to have her voicebox removed, since her grandson has never heard any voice but her current one.
The ads encourage smokers to call 1-800-QUIT-NOW, a toll-free number to get help and support in quitting. Visit www.cdc.gov/tips to view the ads and learn more the people featured in the ads.