New anti-tobacco ads launched by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have hit Wisconsin airwaves as part of a national campaign– and are creating a buzz about the harsh reality of illness and the damage real people suffer as a result of smoking and exposure to secondhand smoke.
The ads from CDC’s “Tips from Former Smokers” campaign feature compelling stories of former smokers living with their smoking-related diseases and disabilities, including lung and throat cancer, heart attack, stroke, Buerger’s disease and asthma.
Currently around one in five adults in Wisconsin smoke and just under 18 percent of high school teens. Nearly 8,000 Wisconsinites lose their lives each year from tobacco-related illness.
“The campaign serves as an important counter to the $233 million that the tobacco industry spends to promote their products annually in Wisconsin,” said Marilyn Jenkins of the NW Wisconsin Tobacco Free Coalition, adding that it’s an uphill battle to take on the tobacco industry with its significant resources.
The state’s Tobacco Prevention and Control Program has had success in reducing the rates of smoking in Wisconsin despite facing severe cuts over the last several years. Wisconsin’s program is currently funded at $5.3 million a year. The CDC’s recommendation for funding in Wisconsin is $64 million.
“With decreased funding, we need all the help we can get,” said Jenkins. “I hope smokers look at these ads and decide to quit, and that young people see them and realize that the health consequences of tobacco use are immediate and deadly serious."
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