Tips Campaign Matte Article for Hispanic/Latino Communities
This prewritten matte article about the Tips From Former Smokers® campaign is ready for adaptation and use by journalists, bloggers, or other members of the media and for organizations’ newsletters.
CDC’s Tips From Former Smokers Campaign Airing a New Round of Hard-Hitting Commercials
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is continuing its federally funded national tobacco education campaign—Tips From Former Smokers® (Tips®)—with hard-hitting TV commercials that feature real people living with the health effects of smoking and secondhand smoke exposure. The Tips campaign also tells the personal stories of family members taking care of loved ones living with a smoking-related illness or disability, as they share the impact smoking has had on all their lives.
The campaign ads, which air beginning on March 6, 2023, highlight the immediate and long-term damage caused by smoking and encourage people who smoke to quit.
Although rates of cigarette smoking have dropped among Hispanic/Latino people in recent years—from 16.2% in 2005 to 8.0% in 2020 – public health experts say it hasn’t gone down as far as it could or should. Cigarette smoking adds to a person’s risk for cancer, heart disease, and stroke, which are among the leading causes of death for Hispanics/Latinos in the United States.
Felicita R. and Rose H. are two Hispanic women featured in CDC’s Tips TV ads that run in both English and Spanish. Felicita started smoking cigarettes when she was just 12 years old. In her 30s and 40s, Felicita already had bleeding gums and loose teeth, but she didn’t realize that smoking could make the problems in her mouth much worse. By the time Felicita quit smoking, it was too late to save her teeth. “I feel like I destroyed my health and my appearance with cigarettes,” she said.
Rose started smoking cigarettes at just 13 years of age, and she continued to smoke for many years. Rose’s addiction caused her to lose a foot because of clogged blood vessels—and then caused lung cancer, which later spread to her brain. Rose had chemotherapy, radiation, and two surgeries.
“Cigarettes harm. They kill,” said Rose. “Try your best to quit. And if you don’t smoke, don’t pick it up. It’s not worth it.”
Rose wished that she had more days to spend with her friends and family—especially her three grandchildren, who meant the world to her. Like everyone in the Tips campaign, she hoped that sharing her story would encourage other people to quit smoking before they get sick. Sadly, she died in January 2015 at age 60 from cancer caused by smoking.
“Smoking doesn’t just kill; it can disable, disfigure and rob people who smoke of their independence,” said Deirdre Lawrence Kittner, PhD, MPH, director of CDC’s Office on Smoking and Health. “While some of these ads can be difficult to watch, they show the challenges that real people face every day as a result of smoking in a way that statistics cannot. By providing information, resources, and motivation, the Tips campaign has proven to be highly effective in helping people across the country quit smoking.”
CDC launched the first Tips campaign in 2012 to lower smoking rates and save lives. From 2012–2018, CDC estimates that approximately one million people successfully quit smoking and more than 16.4 million attempted to quit because of the Tips campaign.
Quitting Help
People who speak Spanish and want to quit smoking can call the Spanish-language quitline: 1-855-DÉJELO-YA (1-855-335-3569). For quitline coaches who speak English, call 1-800-QUIT-NOW (1-800-784-8669).
For more information about the Tips campaign and resources for quitting smoking, visit CDC.gov/tips, or our Spanish-language site, Consejos de exfumadores.
###
Recommended Photos for Matte Article
Download photos of Tips participants Felicita R. and Rose H. to use with the matte article for Hispanics/Latinos. These photos are available for public use. Permission is not required.
Visit Campaign Resources for more ready-to-use Tips photos, videos, social media content, and web badges and buttons.
