This prewritten matte article about the Tips From Former Smokers^® campaign is ready for adaptation and use by journalists, bloggers, and other members of the media and for organizations’ newsletters.

CDC’s Tips From Former Smokers^® Campaign To Air Hard-Hitting Commercials Beginning January 2017

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is continuing its national tobacco education campaign—Tips From Former Smokers^® (Tips^®)—with hard-hitting TV commercials that feature real people who have experienced the harms caused by smoking. The campaign ads, which will air beginning January 2017, will again highlight the immediate and long-term damage caused by smoking, and encourage smokers to quit.

Smoking increases the risk for cancer, heart disease, and stroke, which already are leading causes of death for Asian Americans. While cigarette smoking has fallen among Asian Americans in recent years—from less than 1 smoker in 7 people (or 13.3%) in 2005 to about 1 in 14 (or 7.0%) in 2015—it continues to be a major preventable cause of disease and death in this population, and tobacco-related disparities persist among Asian subgroups.

Rico, an Asian American Tips participant, started smoking at age 14. He was diagnosed with cancer at age 45 and was determined to quit so that he could enjoy a healthy life with his family. Since quitting smoking for good, Rico, a cancer survivor, is passionate about sharing his story in order to help other smokers quit. Rico feels blessed to be alive to spend time with his family and watch his children finish college. He believes that it’s never too late to quit smoking. “As a former smoker, I know how hard it is to quit. Addiction is a very difficult battle to win, but it can be done!” Rico said.

CDC launched the first Tips campaign in 2012 to lower smoking rates and save lives, and the campaign has been very successful since then. Results of a CDC study published in the medical journal, The Lancet, show that in 2012 an estimated 1.64 million smokers tried to quit during the 2012 campaign period, and about 100,000 of them quit for good. After the launch of the nine-week long 2014 campaign, 1.83 million smokers attempted to quit smoking and an estimated 104,000 quit smoking for good.

“Most smokers want to quit. They don’t want to suffer or be a burden on their families,” said Corinne Graffunder, DrPH, MPH, director of CDC’s Office on Smoking and Health. “By showing how real people and their families are affected by smoking-related diseases, the Tips campaign can help motivate people to quit for good.”

For more information about the Tips campaign and resources for quitting smoking, visit CDC.gov/tips(https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/campaign/tips/index.html).

Quitting Help

CDC has created additional print ads in three Asian languages (Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese) that encourage smokers to quit and direct them to the Asian Smokers’ Quitline.* Callers can receive free help quitting from coaches who are fluent in Asian languages. The quitline also offers a free 2-week supply of nicotine patches for callers who want them.

Following are the toll-free numbers that appear in these ads:

• Mandarin and Cantonese: 1-800-838-8917*
• Korean: 1-800-556-5564*
• Vietnamese: 1-800-778-8440*
• English: 1-800-QUIT-NOW (1-800-784-8669)

* The Asian Smokers’ Quitline is operated by the University of California,