Anti-Smoking Ads 2012: CDC Offers GRAPHIC Reasons To Quit Smoking (VIDEOS)

As part of its first national advertising campaign, the Centers for Disease Control has released several public service announcements featuring ex-smokers.

The ads are generally very graphic and are meant to serve as a "wake-up call" to current smokers, Secretary of Health and Human Resources Kathleen Sebelius told the Associated Press.

One ad, featured below, shows the morning routine of "Terrie" who lost her teeth and hair and had to have a tracheotomy after she was treated for throat cancer.

Another PSA, also found below, shows various ex-smokers with stomas providing helpful tips for how to cope with having a hole in your throat.

"Crouch, don't bend over. You don't want to lose the food in your stomach," one man says.

The ads are a part of a $54 million campaign by the CDC. The agency hopes its efforts will keep thousands from dying of smoking-related illnesses.

"This is incredibly important. It's not every day we release something that will save thousands of lives," CDC Director Dr. Thomas Frieden said in a telephone interview with the AP.

WATCH some of the ads below, and for the whole collection, visit the CDC website.

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Comments

[Gary Brumley]

04:34 AM on 05/04/2013

Murderers get better media profiles than smokers do. I am sure the smokers are getting paid to reveal their suffering. It keeps the commercial funds coming into the anti-dignity creeps wallets. This is a spiritual violation . Of course what would these anti dignity people know about true dignity such a disgusting act of "I told you so" people who giddy up on their clever money making skills.

[barper]

08:28 PM on 04/15/2013

These disgusting ads are placed on TV when I'm am eating breakfast or dinner.
I live a healthy lifestyle and never have or would smoke. Why do I have to be tortured
by these gross commercials. They ruin the quality of life for the majority of healthy people.
Who ever came up with this ideas is an absolute horrible person!

[rossy tie]

02:08 AM on 07/18/2012

Your articles are purely enough for me.
http://www.cigaretteonline.co/

[st12973]

09:11 PM on 06/09/2012

I am a member of AEA and SAG/AFTRA and a mother. I'm deeply appalled and upset by the recent ad against smoking that shows a very young boy left standing alone by his mother, gradually looking around, then sobbing in fear. What did that baby have to go through time and again to cry for the camera? He looks way too young to be an actor.

This ad is in an outrage. It goes way too far. I applaud the shock value of deformed adults and open hearts. But a sobbing child??? Not only does it depict the abuse of a child, it depicts the possible abuse of a very young child actor.

How many takes did he have to endure to complete this commercial? What did they do to make him cry for each take? How low can you go to make a point?

What kind of mother would walk away from a toddler AT ALL in a public place? What could the production company, director, producers and mother of that child have been thinking??? We switch it off every time! Even my teenaged son can't watch it.

It's an abomination. I urge you to use your resources to research the creators of this awful commercial and get it off the air.

Sharon Talbot
[e-mail]

[KateM0504]

10:49 PM on 07/14/2012

Agree completely. This commercial is very disturbing--watching that child go through what must have been a horrifying experience was so very disturbing. It was just plain mean and emotionally abusing to the poor child. I understand he didn't even realize it was not for real. He really thought that his mom was gone and he was all alone in this giant place with no one, all alone. He really wasn't "acting" -- for him it was real, she was gone. It was a nightmare to watch.

[Miki Ferkul]

08:33 PM on 06/03/2012

I watch television to relax, unwind- NOT to be sickened by these disgusting commercial. I am not a smoker and I do NOT want to see horrific depictions of things people can suffer even if they are not smokers. I have gradually been giving up TV, as I turn it off every time one of these ads airs. Viva the TV-free life!

[smithan]

12:53 PM on 05/23/2012

i am a respiratory therapist of 27 yrs and if these ads save only 1 person that is great. they are gruesome but very factual. for non believers of Buergers disease look it up.It is for real. Yes there are people who have trachs and lung surgerys for all kinds of other reasons but majority of the reasons for these surgerys are from smoking. Smoking not only hurts the smoker but everyone around them.

[jag61658]

03:17 PM on 05/15/2012

For all those who think the disabled people depicted on these commercials are being exploited, think again. They do not appear against their will. They are doing everyone a service and educating people about real consequences of smoking.

[Rem Williams]

05:24 PM on 05/09/2012

I am a smoker that has been struggling with quitting for the past several years. Where these commercials are very graphic, they have pushed me over the edge and I put my cigarettes down on 4/17/2012 at 10:00 PM. I’m still on the nicotine gum, but have not smoked in almost three weeks. THANK YOU for the graphic nature of these commercials – they were a wake-up call for me.
Rem in South Carolina

[rehall35]

06:51 PM on 05/05/2012

These commercials make me sick every time they come on! I have never heard of anyone losing tips of their fingers or legs due to smoking. The one that is really hard for me is the woman that had a stroke. My mother never smoked a day in her life and had a stroke, she passed on 3 years ago. That commercial brings back such painful memories for me that I get really sick to my stomach because the woman reminds me so much of my mother. These commercials need to be removed. If a person wants to smoke they are going to, these scare tactics are not going to work. I'm sure others feel the same as I do. You don't have to smoke to have a stroke and you can lose limbs from diabetes.

[fatalie]

02:52 PM on 05/24/2012

These commercials are informative with the goal of urging current smokers to quit and future smokers not to start. Just because these commercials are graphic does not mean they should not be aired. You are correct that stokes and amputations can occur due to other diseases, but smokers are statistically at a much higher risk and therefore should be informed about the risks they are taking. Do not shun the truth just because it is not pretty. Embrace the truth and try to support the smokers in your life with regards to quitting and talk to the children in your life about never starting.

[Maureen Elgin]

09:44 AM on 05/31/2012

Just because you haven't heard of it doesn't mean it doesn't happen...that's just silly. Now you are more informed than you were before it aired. This just goes to show these commercials need to exist. I love my young daughter sees these commercials. She's only four but they air in the day time and are quite scary. She asked why the women had lost her toe. I told her cause she smoked cigarettes. She looked at me like I was crazy. Then she said, "I have to stay away from uncle Brad when he smokes?". Already reached her and she's only four years old. And hopefully will put pressure on her uncle to kick the habit.

[Robert W Armstrong]

04:54 PM on 05/01/2012

Grrrrr! These ads are for one reason only and that is a scare tactic to those who smoke. Not only used as a scare tactic but a supposed insight to what you (smokers) will end up like. This to me is gross neglect to the disabled and to use the disabled to make such commercials is far beyond discriminatory. There are a lot of people who has had lungs removed and had nothing to do with smoking... or having your larynx removed because of cancer again not the result of smoking. I demand that these so-called anti-smoking ads be put back on the shelf ( or in a fire pit) where they belong.

[rehall35]

06:40 PM on 05/05/2012

You are so right about that! It makes me sick every time I see one of these commercials. I've never known anyone that lost the tips of their fingers or legs due to smoking. The one I especially don't like is the one where the lady had a stroke. My mother never smoked a day in her life and had a stroke, she has no passed on. This commercial reminds me so much of my mother that I get really sick over it because it brings back the pain of seeing her like that, not to mention the woman favors my mom.

[Colton Zachary]

12:24 AM on 05/11/2012

i truly am sorry to hear about your mother but you are both morons, you are right it is a scare tactic, but one that can and WILL save lives. Yes people do die or get these complications from not smoking but the chances are greatly increased by smoking, and you thinking these people on the commercials are being used...please, they want to be on them to help others from winding up in their shoes. And you thinking the CDC is using disabled people for their own gain is beyond ridiculous, a non-profit org that literally has NOTHING to gain from these commercials besides telling people what they didn't want to believe all along

[Ilana Lu]

05:30 PM on 04/25/2012

I agree with TWeissMa. Presenting disabled people in a negative light is not good for PR. Also many people each year have the same procedures and outcomes, having never smoked. My mom being one of those people, had a lobe of her lung removed. Never smoked. Also, smokeless tobacco has the same effects of mouth and throat cancer, yet these ads specifically target smoking. Why?

Personally, I'm disgusted. TV is a form of tuning out and being pleasantly lost, and the last thing I want to see is a scare campaign designed to target young teenagers who smoke. While I am neither.

[fuchsnews]

12:00 PM on 04/10/2012

How about if you don't smoke you don't have to see these? I have to mute and look away whenever I see these now. They're creepy and sickening.

[fatalie]

02:56 PM on 05/24/2012

You live on this planet with the rest of human kind, that's why you have to see these. If these ads can help smokers quit and children than I think it is worth creeping you out for a few seconds. Also, the people in the ads are real people with a story to tell. Their story, even if it is a few seconds long, is worth hearing. Stop being selfish when the CDC is trying to help people.

[Maureen Elgin]

09:53 AM on 05/31/2012

That's messed up to say that it was creepy! They're human beings just like the rest of us! What do you do when you see them in person? Scream and run the other direction?
A man that had lost part of his face due to mouth cancer came to our high school. His disfigurement was intense and shocking. The guy had the nerve to stand in front of a gym full of high school kids and tell his story. Stopped every student in the high school from chewing. He did a great service to all of us regardless of his "CREEPY" appearance. Shame on you fuchsnews.

[Miki Ferkul]

08:36 PM on 06/03/2012

Or. as I do, just turn off the TV. So sponsors- listen. YOU will lose too.
Why? Because no- I don't HAVE to watch these or listen AT. ALL.
Let evolution do its work.

[Whitneyw1226]

11:18 PM on 03/21/2012

This SERIOUSLY stopped me from ever smoking again.

[rehall35]

07:01 PM on 05/05/2012

That's wonderful news! To me these commercials are disgusting. I have never heard of anyone losing the tips of their fingers or legs from smoking, that's usually diabetes. My mother never smoked a day in her life and had a stroke. I get very sick to my stomach every time I see the woman that had the stroke because it reminds me of my mother, who has now passed on. It brings back horrible memories. I guess whoever decided to put these ads on TV didn't think about the impact it could have on someone who has seen a family member suffer from a stroke or losing a limb.

[fatalie]

03:03 PM on 05/24/2012

I'm reading this sad story about your mother posted in several places. I am very sorry for your loss. I would think that you would realize that the goal of these commercial is to statistically lower peoples chances of stroke by quitting smoking. If you agree with me about the goal, than it would seem you should support this campaign because it could reduce the amount of children who have to watch their parents suffer from debilitation via stroke. Since this pain is close to your heart I would think you would want as few of people to feel that kind of pain personally. And, just because you haven't heard of something, like finger tip loss, doesn't mean it doesn't occur. The world is much bigger than any one persons knowledge or perception. Since you have the internet please take the opportunity to get educated about this subject.

[Marie78]

02:06 PM on 03/27/2013

Obviously these people did not lose their limbs, lungs, have to have a trachea, or anything else because of smoking. Nope just because of the diseases CAUSED by smoking. Cardiovascular disease can make you lose limbs, digits (fingers) among other things because of the lack of blood flow and oxygen to those parts of the body. It can make you have a stroke, heart attack and it can kill you. Again SMOKING is one huge factor in developing this disease. Smoking doesn't cause you to lose a lung but most lung cancers are developed from SMOKING. You are right though like you have stated before just because someone has had these issues does not mean that they were smokers but you obviously are taking this out of context. They are in no way saying this is the ONLY way any of this stuff happens they are only trying to educate the public that it has a greater chance to happen if you smoke. I for one would sit my teen in front of these commercials and seek out individuals that have gone through this to show them that it is not a one in a million chance that anything bad would happen to them if they smoked. Maybe you should look things up before you go saying it is a diabetic issue and not a smokers?

[TWeissMA]

11:29 AM on 03/21/2012

The United States Government, through the CDC, has chosen to present disability as frightening through these ads - utterly tearing apart extensive efforts to present people with disabilities in a far more positive light over decades of time.

In other words - this is government sanctioned and supported disability bashing. Instead of pushing for the enactment of legislation to make nicotine or tobacco illegal, facing the tobacco industry head-on; the U.S. Government has chosen to beat on People with Disabilities.

The politicians of America will never receive another vote from me again - ever; and yes, I mean that.

[fatalie]

03:15 PM on 05/24/2012

Wow, you and I did not get the same thing out of these commercials at all. What I saw were people who had incurred disabilities due to smoking letting us have a glimpse into how difficult their life is with the goal of helping current smokers quit and future smokers never start. I think it was really brave of these people with disabilities to share a bit about their lives with the goal of helping others. I see no disability bashing whatsoever.

The USA protects many kinds of individual freedoms and while I would like it if no one smokes I don't want our government to take away rights.

And who are you punishing by not voting? Really, seriously which American politician are you punishing? I bet you don't even know where the politician that you could vote for stand on this issue. You would do more "good" by writing letters to politicians and organizing grass roots efforts than boycotting the system and thinking you are making a difference.

[cigtwits]

10:52 PM on 03/20/2012

Of course it works, but on who exactly? If you’re talking teenagers, then they can’t really imagine being 50 – regardless of the danger.

It will make smoking seem less cool to the kids who once smoked “because everyone else did.” But that has already happened. 40 years ago, 45% of males smoked. Now it's less than 25%. The mentality of smokers has changed too. According to the 1990 St. Louis study, smokers are 3 times as likely to suffer from some form of depression than the general population.

So either smokers consider their self-medication needs enough to ignore the ad, or they choose something more destructive - and in less time.

Smoking has a 20 - 40 year arc of destruction while drugs and other alternatives can do a lot more damage faster. But these ads don’t get at the psychology which is why they are arguably a cheap shot. They only work when they run - there's no brand equity.

As author of "Cigarette Seduction" (cigseduction.com) that traces tobacco ads and the industry's psychological research I can say that smoker's loyalty exceeds any ad.

To be truly effective, the health groups needs to get at why teens smoke in the first place and give them really good alternatives. Otherwise, they’re mostly singing to the choir and making some bad choices worse.

Health groups will feel tough & self-righteous for a while - until other do-gooders get the idea and start running ads linking heart surgery to hamburgers.