Tobacco use is a major preventable cause of premature death and disease worldwide. Currently, approximately 5.4 million people die each year due to tobacco-related illnesses—a figure expected to increase to more than 8 million a year by 2030. Unless the current trend is changed, the vast majority of these deaths are projected to occur in the developing world.
CDC's Office on Smoking & Health launched the Tips From Former Smokers (TIPS) campaign on March 15, 2012, to raise awareness of the human suffering caused by smoking and to encourage smokers to quit. The TIPS campaign underscores the immediate damage that smoking can cause to the body and features people who experienced smoking-related diseases at a relatively young age. These compelling, personal stories communicate the real and devastating consequences of smoking.
Leonard’s smoking-related COPD made breathing more difficult over time. As he grew weaker, Leonard and his wife, Susan, feared that each trip to the emergency room could be his last. In this video,...
Leonard smoked for 37 years. His wife Susan explains that although Leonard worried he might develop lung cancer, he never expected that COPD would end his life.
When Christine lost her teeth and jaw to oral cancer after years of smoking cigarettes, her teenage children had to step up and take on adult responsibilities. In this video, Christine speaks about...
Christine started smoking in high school to fit in, but she never thought she smoked enough to be a “real smoker.” She was diagnosed with oral cancer at 44, and lost her teeth and half of her jaw d...
After years of smoking cigarettes, Christine lost her teeth and half her jaw to oral cancer. In this video, Christine talks about the toll tobacco use can take, not only on the person who uses it, ...
Terrie bravely showed the world how years of smoking cigarettes damaged her health. In this video filmed shortly before her death in 2013, Terrie says she regrets ever picking up a cigarette.
Terrie, a Tips From Former Smokers® campaign participant, bravely showed the world how years of smoking cigarettes damaged her health. In this video, Terrie’s daughter Dana shares how difficult the...
Sharon started smoking at 13. In her late 30s, she was diagnosed with throat cancer. She was a busy mom with two children. She made their lunches, took them to school, and was active in parent-teac...
Like many teenage girls, Sharon started smoking in junior high school to fit in. She thought since all her friends were smoking, it was the cool thing to do. Sharon’s 12-year-old granddaughter is i...
In this commercial, Tiffany encourages smokers get help to quit for good, using proven methods like smoking cessation counseling and nicotine replacement therapy, before they need to have their voi...
Sharon started smoking at 13. When she was in her late 30s, she was diagnosed with throat cancer and she quit smoking. Despite repeated surgeries, chemotherapy and radiation, doctors had to remove ...
In this video, Christine talks about how her smoking affected her children, particularly her 17-year-old son. While she was going through treatment, she says her son had to become head of the house...