A new round of straightforward ads kicks off the ninth year of the CDC Tips From Former Smokers campaign
Since 2012, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Tips campaign has profiled real people who are living with serious long-term health effects due to smoking cigarettes and secondhand smoke exposure.
New ads this year also show the impact of smoking on family members. Caring for a loved one with a smoking-related illness can affect the caregiver’s life in various ways, including their ability to work and maintain good physical and mental health.
“These powerful new stories from former smokers illustrate the impact of living with real-life health consequences from smoking and how their illnesses affect their loved ones,” said CDC Director Robert R. Redfield, M.D. “We are thankful to these brave individuals for sharing their stories, and we are proud to continue the Tips campaign which has helped so many people quit smoking.”
Tips advertisements began running 23 March and will continue through 4 October on national cable and network television, streaming radio, and online. Hard-hitting mass media campaigns are scientifically proven to raise awareness about the dangers of smoking and to motivate people who smoke to quit for good.
During 2012-2018, more than 16.4 million people who smoke have attempted to quit and approximately one million have successfully quit because of the Tips campaign.
Cigarette smoking remains the leading cause of preventable disease and death in the United States, killing more than 480,000 Americans each year. Smoking harms nearly every organ in the body. For every person who dies because of smoking, at least 30 people live with a serious smoking-related illness.
For more information on the Tips campaign, including profiles of the former smokers in the ads, other campaign resources, and links to the ads, click here.
