WASHINGTON, D.C. January 20, 2016 The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released new advertisements today as part of its ongoing Tips from Former Smokers national campaign. The fifth round of ads will run for 20 weeks beginning January 25 and will run through June 12. For the first time since the campaign began in 2012, this new set of ads will run on national cable and network broadcast in addition to local media markets. The following is a statement from Chris Hansen, president of the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN): We commend Congress and the administration for prioritizing efforts to reduce tobacco use and save lives by protecting funding for the CDC 's Office on Smoking and Health (OSH) and making this newest round of the äóÖTips from Former Smokers ' campaign possible. We 're pleased that this historic advertising campaign will continue to encourage people to quit tobacco and prevent a lifetime of addiction for the next generation. Like the earlier rounds of ads, which led an estimated 1.6 million smokers to attempt to quitæ-- more than 100,000 of whom quit for good -- and prevented 17,000 premature deaths, these ads are based on strong evidence regarding which anti-smoking messages work best. By expanding the placement of the ads this year, this campaign will reach an even larger audience with the potential to save even more lives. We are making progress in helping adults quit this deadly addiction, but there is still more work to do with more than 50 million adults using tobacco products. Nearly one third of all cancer deaths are linked to tobacco use and the Surgeon General estimates that smoking causes 480,000 deaths in this country each year. Federal, state and local lawmakers should continue to support a comprehensive approach to tobacco control with comprehensive smoke-free laws, regular and significant increases in tobacco taxes and funding for evidence-based prevention and cessation programs, including effective mass-media campaigns. These interventions are proven to be the most effective ways to reduce tobacco use, which ultimately reduces death and suffering from tobacco-related diseases. 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. 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, visit www.fightcancer.org. FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT: Emily Rohloff or Alissa Crispino American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network Phone: (202) 585-3296 or (202) 661-5772 Email: [email protected] or [email protected] #CDC #TIPS #OSH #tobacco #cancer #acscan