CDC Rolls Out $54 Million Anti-Smoking Campaign

Federal health officials are rolling out another round of anti-smoking ads.  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention spent $54 million dollars on the ads, which shows how cigarettes changed the lives of former smokers.

A follow-up campaign

The CDC launched similar ads last year showing the graphic effects of smoking. One ad shows a woman talking through a voice box, another ad shows a man with missing limbs. According to CBS News, the new series of ads will offer a similar message.

“This campaign is saving lives and saving dollars by giving people the facts about smoking in an easy-to-understand way that encourages quitting,” Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, said in a statement. “This campaign is effective. The increase in calls to quitlines after last year’s campaign shows that more people are trying to quit smoking as a result of these ads.”

CDC director Dr. Tom Frieden said last year’s campaign exceeded their expectations. “We saw an increase of more than 200,000 of people who called quit lines,” he told the press. “That’s progress.”

Doctors could do more

According to Daily Dose, some believe doctors aren’t doing enough to help patients quit. While most doctors advise their patients against smoking, only about 40 percent of doctors write prescriptions for smoking cessation drugs, according to Dr. Graham Warren, a radiation oncologist at the Medical University of South Carolina.

“As clinicians and researchers, we must work to improve access to tobacco cessation resources and improve effective methods of tobacco cessation for cancer patients,” he said.

Smoking cessation products become popular years ago, when gum was released as a tool to help smokers kick the habit. Now smokers can find a variety of products designed to help them quit.