Around this time last year, the CDC launched a provocative advertising campaign aimed at educating the public about the dangers of smoking and what it's like to live with a serious medical condition caused by smoking. That campaign was called Tips from Former Smokers, and I'm excited to announce that it is back on the air. The campaign focuses on real-life stories of people who are battling lung and laryngeal cancer, heart attack, stroke, Buerger's disease and asthma as a result of smoking and exposure to secondhand smoke. TV ads, radio spots, print placements and PSAs ran all across the country last spring that promoted resources to help people quit, such as tobacco quitlines and the CDC's comprehensive online cessation tools. Today the CDC re-launched these ads for the month of March. The ads are attention-grabbing and very personal. Terrie's story in particular is very compelling for a lot of people: The CDC received an incredibly positive response to the campaign last year, both in reaction to the ads themselves and in the number of people who took actions to try and quit. The initial results from the campaign found a 132 percent increase in calls to tobacco quitlines and a 428 percent increase in visits to the CDC's cessation webpage. Nearly 80 percent of smokers an astounding number reported seeing the Tips ads on TV. Not only is the CDC putting those highly effective ads back on the air this month, but it will be airing a new set of Tips from Former Smokers ads beginning next month. I'm anxious to see what the new ads will look like, but in the meantime, I'm glad these effective ads from last year will be seen across the country again and hopefully continue to help people quit.
Today’s blog is one of a series of posts highlighting how ACS CAN is examining, prioritizing and pursuing policy interventions that ensure everyone has an equal opportunity to prevent, find, treat and survive cancer. Achieving health equity in communities nationwide is a cornerstone of our mission.