A new media campaign to get smokers to quit and prevent anyone else from starting will debut in Arkansas next week.
The education campaign that features graphic images will appear on television, in print and on social media starting March 19, according to the Arkansas Department of Health. The ads will also be featured on billboards, in theaters and online--including on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
It’s part of a $54 million national campaign called “Tips From Former Smokers” that is intended to shock viewers with painful true stories about the effects of tobacco. A habit the Centers for Disease Control says not only kills, but also cripples.
“Smokers may commonly think they live shorter lives, but they actually live sicker,” Thomas Frieden with the CDC said.
The former smokers profiled in the ads have suffered ailments like stroke-related paralysis, limb amputation, lung removal and heart attack. The CDC is hoping to persuade as many as 50,000 smokers to quit. An estimated 22.9 percent Arkansas adults smoke and more than 4,900 Arkansans die each year to smoking-related diseases.
To find out more on the campaign, visit www.cdc.gov/quitting/tips.
