Former Smokers Live To Tell The Hard Truth About Tobacco

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Mar 28, 2013, 10:54 ET

Legacy Supports 2013 Tips From Former Smokers Campaign

WASHINGTON, March 28, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The tobacco industry spends more than $8 billion a year on marketing its products, making the battle against the tobacco epidemic one of the greatest public health challenges. In 2012, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services launched the bold Tips from Former Smokers campaign, underscoring the message to smokers and non-smokers alike: smoking is not just a bad habit but a deadly addiction that can impact your health and your daily life at a very young age. The effects of the campaign were groundbreaking, more than doubling call volume to the national quit line during the campaign.

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Capitalizing on that momentum is critical and today, as the second round of Tips from Former Smokers hits the airwaves, we applaud the CDC for their continued investment in our nation's future and economic health. With the launch of this new round of "Tips" advertisements, the issue of tobacco use will stay high on the nation's public health agenda, as well as at the forefront of American minds nationwide. Through these stories, tobacco no longer is just a statistic; instead, it has a human face.

The new effort continues to educate the public about the harmful effects of smoking and underscore how life changes after being diagnosed with a medical condition caused by smoking or exposure to secondhand smoke. Ads will reach specific population groups, including American Indian/Alaska Native, and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) individuals, that were not addressed in the first campaign. These additional ads are particularly important since they connect personally with communities that have long been targeted by tobacco marketing and often have higher smoking prevalence rates.

As we know from our work at Legacy, it is critical that we reach smokers of every cultural background to encourage smoking cessation on all levels. Additionally, the CDC has partnered with health care provider groups and designed materials that will assist health care providers in talking with their patients about the importance of quitting.

For more than a decade, Legacy has fought to address the nation's leading cause of preventable death: tobacco-related disease. Through efforts like our truth youth smoking prevention campaign, and our EX quit smoking campaign, we know firsthand about the importance of multimedia campaigns and the effects and results that they generate. We stand beside the CDC in support of this bold effort and encourage everyone to visit www.cdc.gov/TIPS for more information on how to quit.

SOURCE Legacy