Update! CDC To Launch National Tobacco Education Campaign this Thursday!

This Thursday,The CDC Office of Tobacco and Health will be launching their new educational campaign, called “Tips From Former Smokers”. The campaign will underscore the immediate health effects of smoking, and profile people who suffer from these health effects.

Today, the CDC held an informational call to tell people about the upcoming campaign and answer questions.

The campaign will include ads for television, public transportation and in select publications- including those that cater especially to LGBT audiences! The television ads will profile people with Buerger disease, Asthma, throat cancer as well as people that have suffered from heart attacks and strokes. There will also be some inspirational Public Service Announcements about people who have quit after smoking for many years. The ads officially start on Monday, March 19th and will run for 12 weeks, so stay tuned!

When asked about the proximity of the campaign launch to the release of the Surgeon General Report and the potential lack of youth focus, a line from the executive summary of the Surgeon General report was quoted- “There also is strong evidence that media ads designed for adults also reduce the prevalence of smoking in youth” (Chapter 6), and that the CDC felt that this campaign was the “most efficient way to achieve effects”.

The representatives from the CDC also spoke about how they will be providing technical assistance to state Quitlines who are worried that they will be overwhelmed when the campaign hits. Additionally, they would love to be informed throughout the course of the campaign about the response that the ads are getting- both positive and negative, and can be sent to: Tobaccomediacampaign@cdc.gov