WASHINGTON, D.C. September 9, 2013 We commend the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for the incredible success of the first phase of their Tips from Former Smokers campaign. The hard-hitting national ads that illustrated the real consequences of tobacco use were highly effective at encouraging smokers to quit and discouraging youth from taking up the deadly habit.
We 're pleased that this historic advertising campaign was so effective at combating the tobacco industry 's unscrupulous efforts to addict new users and prevent existing users from trying to quit. Funded primarily by the Prevention and Public Health Fund established under the Affordable Care Act, the results of the campaign show the overall value of large public education efforts in the fight to combat tobacco use. The fact that, in addition to the estimated 1.6 million smokers who attempted to quit because of the campaign, six million non-smokers talked to a loved one about the dangers of smoking shows how this campaign is continuing the crucial work to de-normalize the deadly habit of smoking.
The impressive results from the first phase of this campaign prove the value in continuing this education effort for years to come. Congress must not let the damaging effects of sequestration impact a campaign that is saving millions of lives from tobacco use, the most preventable cause of death in our country. We know this is a crucial piece to the multi-pronged approach to combating tobacco use that includes federal regulation of tobacco products, increased tobacco taxes, smoke-free public spaces and workplaces and sustained investment in prevention and cessation.
ACS CAN, the nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy affiliate of the American Cancer Society, supports evidence-based policy and legislative solutions designed to eliminate cancer as a major health problem.æ ACS CAN works to encourage elected officials and candidates to make cancer a top national priority. ACS CAN gives ordinary people extraordinary power to fight cancer with the training and tools they need to make their voices heard. For more information, visitæwww.fightcancer.org.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Lauren Walens or Steven Weiss
American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network
Phone: (202) 661-5763 or (202) 661-5711
Email: [email protected] or [email protected]
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