Tips ® Impact and Results
Why Tips?
The personal stories shared in the Tips From Former Smokers® (Tips®) ads are compelling. The ads communicate the real-life health consequences of smoking and exposure to secondhand smoke. In a very human way they show smoking causes immediate damage to your body and that the damage can happen at a young age and be severe. Hard-hitting media campaigns have been proven to raise awareness about the dangers of smoking and to motivate smokers to quit.
- Smoking remains the leading cause of preventable death and disease in the United States, killing more than 480,000 Americans each year. For every person who dies because of smoking, at least 30 people live with a serious smoking-related illness.
- The Tips campaign counters these sobering statistics by giving a face of a real person to the 16 million Americans who are living day in and day out with these consequences.
- The Tips campaign is based on an in-depth review of research conducted in multiple U.S. states and other countries, as well as extensive campaign development research and testing.
What People Are Saying About Tips
“I am 2 months smoke free!! It’s really mind over matter but I believe the CDC commercials have much more of an impact when you’re ready to quit or deters people from ever starting!! Great job CDC!!”
Comment on Facebook @CDCTobaccoFree“I quit because of these commercials. I feel better I hope they continue to show these commercials to save more lives.”
Comment on Facebook @CDCTobaccoFree“These campaigns actually pushed me over the edge to finally quit after several failed attempts. You are making a difference!”
Comment on Facebook @CDCTobaccoFree
Why Tips Works
- Smokers told us that they needed to see and hear what it would be like to live with the health consequences of smoking.
- For decades, smokers had heard that smoking would ultimately kill them, but that wasn’t the motivation they needed. The nicotine in cigarettes is so addictive, they said, that even the fear of death wouldn’t motivate them to quit.
- Smokers said that seeing how smoking could affect their lives and impact their families was the true way they would be motivated to quit.
- Scientific studies have shown that hard-hitting media campaigns are effective in helping people quit smoking. Study results suggest that emotionally evocative tobacco education media campaigns featuring graphic images of the health effects of smoking can increase quitline calls and website visits, and that these campaigns’ effects decrease rapidly once they are discontinued.
Tips Impacts
- In each campaign, there was an immediate, sustained and dramatic spike in calls to 1-800-QUIT-NOW, and in visits to the campaign website.
- During 2012–2018, CDC estimates that more than 16.4 million people who smoke have attempted to quit and approximately one million have quit for good because of the Tips campaign.
- In addition, in the first year of the campaign alone, an estimated 6 million nonsmokers talked with friends and family about the dangers of smoking.
- Tips is cost-effective. Economic analysis of the Tips campaign has shown that for every $2,000 we spend on the ads, we prevent a death.
Tips Publications and Evaluation Results
2019
October 10, 2019
Confirming the Impact of the Tips From Former Smokers® Campaign: Results from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System
Summary: This study validates findings from previous research by demonstrating a dose–response relationship between Tips From Former Smokers® campaign (Tips®) exposure and attempts to quit smoking among US adult participants in the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), a nationally representative surveillance system and largest continuously conducted health survey system in the world. Learn More.
2018
November 28, 2018
The 2016 Tips From Former Smokers Campaign®: Associations with Quit Intentions and Quit Attempts among Smokers with and without Mental Health Conditions
Summary: This study showed that cigarette smokers with mental health conditions had increased quit attempts after reporting having seen the TV ad featuring Tips participant Rebecca, a former smoker living with depression. Learn More.
September 18, 2018
Impact of U.S. Antismoking TV Ads on Spanish-Language Quitline Calls
Summary: To our knowledge, this is the first study to assess the impact of a national Spanish-language antismoking media campaign on quitline calls among Spanish-speaking smokers. Learn More.
May 31, 2018
Impact of the Tips From Former Smokers Campaign® on Population-Level Smoking Cessation, 2012–2015
Summary: During 2012–2015, the CDC’s Tips® campaign was associated with over half a million sustained quits among U.S. adult smokers, and over 9 million quit attempts. Learn More.
2017
December 19, 2017
Evaluation of a federally funded mass media campaign and smoking cessation in pregnant women: a population-based study in three states
Summary: This is the first study to examine the association between a general mass media anti-tobacco campaign, Tips from Former Smokers®, and smoking cessation in pregnant women. Learn More.
May 12, 2017
Association Between Media Doses of the Tips From Former Smokers Campaign ® and Cessation Behaviors and Intentions to Quit Among Cigarette Smokers, 2012 –2015.
Summary: The cumulative impact of four years of Tips ® reveals a significant positive relationship between gross rating points, a measure of an ad’s reach and frequency, and higher rates of quit attempts and intentions to quit among smokers. CDC Best Practices remains an important guideline for campaign implementation. Learn More.
2016
September 14, 2016
Does Digital Video Advertising Increase Population-Level Reach of Multimedia Campaigns? Evidence From the 2013 Tips From Former Smokers Campaign ®.
Summary: Results suggest that the use of digital advertising enhances overall exposure to a large television-based campaign. Learn More.
July 19, 2016
Perceived Effectiveness of Antismoking Ads and Association with Quit Attempts Among Smokers: Evidence from the Tips From Former Smokers Campaign.
Summary: This is the first study to demonstrate an association between perceived effectiveness (PE) scores for antismoking ads and prospective quit attempts in a large, nationally representative sample of smokers. Learn More.
April 12, 2016
The Influence of State-specific Quitline Numbers on Call Volumes during a National Tobacco Education Campaign promoting 1-800-QUIT-NOW.
Summary: This study examined whether having an alternate number reduced the campaign’s effect on calls to 1-800-QUIT-NOW. Learn More.
March 24, 2016
Evaluation of the National Tips From Former Smokers Campaign: The 2014 Longitudinal Cohort.
Summary: After the launch of the nine-week-long 2014 Tips From Former Smokers (Tips) campaign, 1.83 million smokers attempted to quit smoking and an estimated 104,000 Americans quit smoking for good. Learn More.
March 16, 2016
Does Digital Ad Exposure Influence Information-Seeking Behavior Online? Evidence From the 2012 Tips From Former Smokers National Tobacco Prevention Campaign.
Summary: Study results suggest that online ad exposure to Tips 2012 digital display and search ads was associated with confirmed visits to the Tips 2012 campaign sites and visits to other cessation websites. Learn More.
February 17, 2016
Association Between Media Dose, Ad Tagging, and Changes in Web Traffic for a National Tobacco Education Campaign: A Market-Level Longitudinal Study
Summary: The purpose of this study was to use geographic and temporal variability in 2013 Tips campaign television media doses and ad tagging to evaluate changes in traffic to the campaign website in response to specific doses of campaign media. Learn More.
2015
December 16, 2015
Increasing the Dose of Television Advertising in a National Antismoking Media Campaign: Results from a Randomised Field Trial.
Summary: This is the first study to demonstrate the effectiveness of a national tobacco education campaign using field-based randomization at the media market level. Learn More.
November 5, 2015
The Dose-Response Relationship Between Tobacco Education Advertising and Calls to Quitlines in the United States, March–June, 2012.
Summary: The purpose of this study was to estimate changes in call volume in the United States in response to increases in advertising doses of the Tips From Former Smokers (Tips) campaign, the first federal national tobacco education campaign. The campaign aired for 12 weeks from March 19 to June 10, 2012. The study also measured the effectiveness of ad taglines that promoted calls directly with a quitline number (1-800-QUIT-NOW) and indirectly with a cessation help website (Smokefree.gov). Learn More.
July 16, 2015
Cessation Outcomes Among Quitline Callers in Three States During a National Tobacco Education Campaign.
Summary: The goal of the study was to determine whether quit results 7 months after tobacco users’ enrollment in quitline counseling were related to Tips campaign exposure. Learn More.
May 13, 2015
Impact of a U.S. Antismoking National Media Campaign on Beliefs, Cognitions and Quit Intentions
Summary: This study examined changes in beliefs, tobacco-related perceptions and intentions to quit smoking among U.S. adult smokers after a 12-week airing of the Tips From Former Smokers campaign. Learn More.
January 5, 2015
Changes in Quitline Caller Characteristics During a National Tobacco Education Campaign
Summary: This study examined changes in quitline caller characteristics, including demographics and smoking-related behaviors before and during the Tips From Former Smokers (Tips) campaign in 2012. Learn More.
2014
December 10, 2014
A Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of the First Federally Funded Antismoking Campaign
Summary: This study analyzed the cost-effectiveness of the 2012 Tips campaign. Findings indicated that, based on the number of people estimated to have quit smoking for good (about 100,000), the campaign will also prevent at least 17,000 premature deaths and help gain about 179,000 years of healthy life. Learn More.
July 8, 2014
Intermediate Cessation Outcomes Among Quitline Callers During a National Tobacco Education
Summary: From March 19 through June 10, 2012, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention launched the first federally funded National Tobacco Education Campaign, Tips From Former Smokers (Tips). This study examined the campaign’s impact on quitline callers’ intermediate cessation outcomes. Learn More.
2013
September 20, 2013
Impact of a National Tobacco Education Campaign on Weekly Numbers of Quitline Calls and Website Visitors—United States, March 4-June 23, 2013.
Summary: The 16-week campaign led to 151,536 additional quitline calls and nearly 2.8 million additional unique Tips website visitors above pre-campaign levels. Learn More.
September 9, 2013
Effect of the First Federally Funded US Antismoking National Media Campaign
Summary: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) delivered a national, 3-month antismoking campaign called Tips From Former Smokers (Tips), in which hard-hitting television advertising was featured, showing smoking-related suffering in real people. This study examined the effects of the Tips campaign. Learn More.
2012
August 31, 2012
Increases in Quitline Calls and Smoking Cessation Website Visitors during a National Tobacco Education Campaign—March 19–June 10, 2012.
Summary: This report indicates that an evidence-based national tobacco education media campaign with adequate reach and frequency can lead to substantial increases in calls to a national portal for state quitlines and unique visitors to a cessation website. Learn More.
Behavior Change
October 10, 2019
Confirming the Impact of the Tips From Former Smokers® Campaign: Results from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System
Summary: This study validates findings from previous research by demonstrating a dose–response relationship between Tips From Former Smokers® campaign (Tips®) exposure and attempts to quit smoking among US adult participants in the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), a nationally representative surveillance system and largest continuously conducted health survey system in the world. Learn More.
November 28, 2018
The 2016 Tips From Former Smokers Campaign®: Associations with Quit Intentions and Quit Attempts among Smokers with and without Mental Health Conditions
Summary: This study showed that cigarette smokers with mental health conditions had increased quit attempts after reporting having seen the TV ad featuring Tips participant Rebecca, a former smoker living with depression. Learn More.
September 18, 2018
Impact of U.S. Antismoking TV Ads on Spanish-Language Quitline Calls
Summary: To our knowledge, this is the first study to assess the impact of a national Spanish-language antismoking media campaign on quitline calls among Spanish-speaking smokers. Learn More.
May 31, 2018
Impact of the Tips From Former Smokers Campaign® on Population-Level Smoking Cessation, 2012–2015
Summary: During 2012–2015, the CDC’s Tips® campaign was associated with over half a million sustained quits among U.S. adult smokers, and over 9 million quit attempts. Learn More.
December 19, 2017
Evaluation of a federally funded mass media campaign and smoking cessation in pregnant women: a population-based study in three states
Summary: This is the first study to examine the association between a general mass media anti-tobacco campaign, Tips from Former Smokers®, and smoking cessation in pregnant women. Learn More.
May 12, 2017
Association Between Media Doses of the Tips From Former Smokers Campaign® and Cessation Behaviors and Intentions to Quit Among Cigarette Smokers, 2012 –2015.
Summary: The cumulative impact of four years of Tips ® reveals a significant positive relationship between gross rating points, a measure of an ad’s reach and frequency, and higher rates of quit attempts and intentions to quit among smokers. CDC Best Practices remains an important guideline for campaign implementation. Learn More.
July 19, 2016
Perceived Effectiveness of Antismoking Ads and Association with Quit Attempts Among Smokers: Evidence from the Tips From Former Smokers Campaign ®.
Summary: This is the first study to demonstrate an association between perceived effectiveness (PE) scores for antismoking ads and prospective quit attempts in a large, nationally representative sample of smokers. Learn More.
March 24, 2016
Evaluation of the National Tips From Former Smokers Campaign: The 2014 Longitudinal Cohort.
Summary: After the launch of the nine-week-long 2014 Tips From Former Smokers (Tips) campaign, 1.83 million smokers attempted to quit smoking and an estimated 104,000 Americans quit smoking for good. Learn More.
December 16, 2015
Increasing the Dose of Television Advertising in a National Antismoking Media Campaign: Results from a Randomised Field Trial.
Summary: This is the first study to demonstrate the effectiveness of a national tobacco education campaign using field-based randomization at the media market level. Learn More.
July 16, 2015
Cessation Outcomes Among Quitline Callers in Three States During a National Tobacco Education Campaign.
Summary: The goal of the study was to determine whether quit results 7 months after tobacco users’ enrollment in quitline counseling were related to Tips campaign exposure. Learn More.
May 13, 2015
Impact of a U.S. Antismoking National Media Campaign on Beliefs, Cognitions and Quit Intentions
Summary: This study examined changes in beliefs, tobacco-related perceptions and intentions to quit smoking among U.S. adult smokers after a 12-week airing of the Tips From Former Smokers campaign. Learn More.
July 8, 2014
Intermediate Cessation Outcomes Among Quitline Callers During a National Tobacco Education
Summary: From March 19 through June 10, 2012, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention launched the first federally funded National Tobacco Education Campaign, Tips From Former Smokers (Tips). This study examined the campaign’s impact on quitline callers’ intermediate cessation outcomes. Learn More.
September 20, 2013
Impact of a National Tobacco Education Campaign on Weekly Numbers of Quitline Calls and Website Visitors—United States, March 4-June 23, 2013.
Summary: The 16-week campaign led to 151,536 additional quitline calls and nearly 2.8 million additional unique Tips website visitors above pre-campaign levels. Learn More.
September 9, 2013
Effect of the First Federally Funded US Antismoking National Media Campaign
Summary: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) delivered a national, 3-month antismoking campaign called Tips From Former Smokers (Tips), in which hard-hitting television advertising was featured, showing smoking-related suffering in real people. This study examined the effects of the Tips campaign. Learn More.
August 31, 2012
Increases in Quitline Calls and Smoking Cessation Website Visitors during a National Tobacco Education Campaign—March 19–June 10, 2012.
Summary: This report indicates that an evidence-based national tobacco education media campaign with adequate reach and frequency can lead to substantial increases in calls to a national portal for state quitlines and unique visitors to a cessation website. Learn More.
Quitline
April 12, 2016
The Influence of State-specific Quitline Numbers on Call Volumes during a National Tobacco Education Campaign promoting 1-800-QUIT-NOW.
Summary: This study examined whether having an alternate number reduced the campaign’s effect on calls to 1-800-QUIT-NOW. Learn More.
November 5, 2015
The Dose-Response Relationship Between Tobacco Education Advertising and Calls to Quitlines in the United States, March–June, 2012.
Summary: The purpose of this study was to estimate changes in call volume in the United States in response to increases in advertising doses of the Tips From Former Smokers (Tips) campaign, the first federal national tobacco education campaign. The campaign aired for 12 weeks from March 19 to June 10, 2012. The study also measured the effectiveness of ad taglines that promoted calls directly with a quitline number (1-800-QUIT-NOW) and indirectly with a cessation help website (Smokefree.gov). Learn More.
January 5, 2015
Changes in Quitline Caller Characteristics During a National Tobacco Education Campaign
Summary: This study examined changes in quitline caller characteristics, including demographics and smoking-related behaviors before and during the Tips From Former Smokers (Tips) campaign in 2012. Learn More.
Digital
September 14, 2016
Does Digital Video Advertising Increase Population-Level Reach of Multimedia Campaigns? Evidence From the 2013 Tips From Former Smokers Campaign.
Summary: Results suggest that the use of digital advertising enhances overall exposure to a large television-based campaign. Learn More.
March 16, 2016
Does Digital Ad Exposure Influence Information-Seeking Behavior Online? Evidence From the 2012 Tips From Former Smokers National Tobacco Prevention Campaign.
Summary: Study results suggest that online ad exposure to Tips 2012 digital display and search ads was associated with confirmed visits to the Tips 2012 campaign sites and visits to other cessation websites. Learn More.
February 17, 2016
Association Between Media Dose, Ad Tagging, and Changes in Web Traffic for a National Tobacco Education Campaign: A Market-Level Longitudinal Study
Summary: The purpose of this study was to use geographic and temporal variability in 2013 Tips campaign television media doses and ad tagging to evaluate changes in traffic to the campaign website in response to specific doses of campaign media.Learn More.
Economic
December 10, 2014
A Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of the First Federally Funded Antismoking Campaign
Summary: This study analyzed the cost-effectiveness of the 2012 Tips campaign. Findings indicated that, based on the number of people estimated to have quit smoking for good (about 100,000), the campaign will also prevent at least 17,000 premature deaths and help gain about 179,000 years of healthy life. Learn More.
Cumulative
Confirming the Impact of the Tips From Former Smokers® Campaign: Results from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System
Summary: This study validates findings from previous research by demonstrating a dose–response relationship between Tips From Former Smokers® campaign (Tips®) exposure and attempts to quit smoking among US adult participants in the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), a nationally representative surveillance system and largest continuously conducted health survey system in the world. Learn More.
Impact of U.S. Antismoking TV Ads on Spanish-Language Quitline Calls
Summary: To our knowledge, this is the first study to assess the impact of a national Spanish-language antismoking media campaign on quitline calls among Spanish-speaking smokers. Learn More.
Impact of the Tips From Former Smokers Campaign® on Population-Level Smoking Cessation, 2012–2015
Summary: During 2012–2015, the CDC’s Tips® campaign was associated with over half a million sustained quits among U.S. adult smokers, and over 9 million quit attempts. Learn More.
Association Between Media Doses of the Tips From Former Smokers Campaign ® and Cessation Behaviors and Intentions to Quit Among Cigarette Smokers, 2012 –2015.
Summary: The cumulative impact of four years of Tips ® reveals a significant positive relationship between gross rating points, a measure of an ad’s reach and frequency, and higher rates of quit attempts and intentions to quit among smokers. CDC Best Practices remains an important guideline for campaign implementation. Learn More.
2016 Tips Campaign
The 2016 Tips From Former Smokers Campaign®: Associations with Quit Intentions and Quit Attempts among Smokers with and without Mental Health Conditions
Summary: This study showed that cigarette smokers with mental health conditions had increased quit attempts after reporting having seen the TV ad featuring Tips participant Rebecca, a former smoker living with depression. Learn More.
2014 Tips Campaign
Perceived Effectiveness of Antismoking Ads and Association with Quit Attempts Among Smokers: Evidence from the Tips From Former Smokers Campaign.
Summary: This is the first study to demonstrate an association between perceived effectiveness (PE) scores for antismoking ads and prospective quit attempts in a large, nationally representative sample of smokers. Learn More.
Evaluation of the National Tips From Former Smokers Campaign: The 2014 Longitudinal Cohort.
Summary: After the launch of the nine-week-long 2014 Tips From Former Smokers (Tips) campaign, 1.83 million smokers attempted to quit smoking and an estimated 104,000 Americans quit smoking for good. Learn More.
2013 Tips Campaign
Association Between Media Dose, Ad Tagging, and Changes in Web Traffic for a National Tobacco Education Campaign: A Market-Level Longitudinal Study
Summary: The purpose of this study was to use geographic and temporal variability in 2013 Tips campaign television media doses and ad tagging to evaluate changes in traffic to the campaign website in response to specific doses of campaign media. Learn More.
Increasing the Dose of Television Advertising in a National Antismoking Media Campaign: Results from a Randomised Field Trial.
Summary: This is the first study to demonstrate the effectiveness of a national tobacco education campaign using field-based randomization at the media market level. Learn More.
Impact of a National Tobacco Education Campaign on Weekly Numbers of Quitline Calls and Website Visitors—United States, March 4-June 23, 2013.
Summary: The 16-week campaign led to 151,536 additional quitline calls and nearly 2.8 million additional unique Tips website visitors above pre-campaign levels. Learn More.
2012 Tips Campaign
Evaluation of a federally funded mass media campaign and smoking cessation in pregnant women: a population-based study in three states
Summary: This is the first study to examine the association between a general mass media anti-tobacco campaign, Tips from Former Smokers®, and smoking cessation in pregnant women. Learn More.
The Influence of State-specific Quitline Numbers on Call Volumes during a National Tobacco Education Campaign promoting 1-800-QUIT-NOW.
Summary: This study examined whether having an alternate number reduced the campaign’s effect on calls to 1-800-QUIT-NOW. Learn More.
Does Digital Ad Exposure Influence Information-Seeking Behavior Online? Evidence From the 2012 Tips From Former Smokers National Tobacco Prevention Campaign.
Summary: Study results suggest that online ad exposure to Tips 2012 digital display and search ads was associated with confirmed visits to the Tips 2012 campaign sites and visits to other cessation websites. Learn More.
The Dose-Response Relationship Between Tobacco Education Advertising and Calls to Quitlines in the United States, March–June, 2012.
Summary: The purpose of this study was to estimate changes in call volume in the United States in response to increases in advertising doses of the Tips From Former Smokers (Tips) campaign, the first federal national tobacco education campaign. The campaign aired for 12 weeks from March 19 to June 10, 2012. The study also measured the effectiveness of ad taglines that promoted calls directly with a quitline number (1-800-QUIT-NOW) and indirectly with a cessation help website (Smokefree.gov). Learn More.
Cessation Outcomes Among Quitline Callers in Three States During a National Tobacco Education Campaign.
Summary: The goal of the study was to determine whether quit results 7 months after tobacco users’ enrollment in quitline counseling were related to Tips campaign exposure. Learn More.
A Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of the First Federally Funded Antismoking Campaign.
Summary: This study analyzed the cost-effectiveness of the 2012 Tips campaign. Findings indicated that, based on the number of people estimated to have quit smoking for good (about 100,000), the campaign will also prevent at least 17,000 premature deaths and help gain about 179,000 years of healthy life. Learn More.
Impact of a U.S. Antismoking National Media Campaign on Beliefs, Cognitions and Quit Intentions
Summary: This study examined changes in beliefs, tobacco-related perceptions and intentions to quit smoking among U.S. adult smokers after a 12-week airing of the Tips From Former Smokers campaign. Learn More.
Changes in Quitline Caller Characteristics During a National Tobacco Education Campaign
Summary: This study examined changes in quitline caller characteristics, including demographics and smoking-related behaviors before and during the Tips From Former Smokers (Tips) campaign in 2012. Learn More.
Intermediate Cessation Outcomes Among Quitline Callers During a National Tobacco Education
Summary: From March 19 through June 10, 2012, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention launched the first federally funded National Tobacco Education Campaign, Tips From Former Smokers (Tips). This study examined the campaign’s impact on quitline callers’ intermediate cessation outcomes. Learn More.
Effect of the First Federally Funded US Antismoking National Media Campaign
Summary: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) delivered a national, 3-month antismoking campaign called Tips From Former Smokers (Tips), in which hard-hitting television advertising was featured, showing smoking-related suffering in real people. This study examined the effects of the Tips campaign. Learn More.
Increases in Quitline Calls and Smoking Cessation Website Visitors During a National Tobacco Education Campaign, March 19-June 10, 2012.
Summary: During March 19–June 10, 2012, CDC aired Tips from Former Smokers (Tips), the first federally funded, nationwide, paid-media tobacco education campaign in the United States. The study findings suggest that mass media campaigns and telephone quitlines are effective in increasing cessation rates among cigarette smokers. Learn More.
Does Digital Video Advertising Increase Population-Level Reach of Multimedia Campaigns? Evidence From the 2013 Tips From Former Smokers Campaign.
Summary: Results suggest that the use of digital advertising enhances overall exposure to a large television-based campaign. Learn More.