Terrie CancerCDC is building on the success of the Tips campaign  by launching a new round of advertisements to continue to raise awareness of the negative health effects caused by smoking, encourage smokers to quit, and encourage nonsmokers to protect themselves and their families from exposure to secondhand smoke. Tips features health conditions around pregnancy, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease [COPD], asthma in adults, and smoking-related complications in a person with diabetes and HIV, as well as oral diseases and cancer.


BrandonNew Hampshire supports the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Education Campaign: Tips from Former Smokers. The campaign features real people suffering as a result of smoking and exposure to secondhand smoke.

Their compelling stories send a powerful message: Quit smoking now. Or better yet — don’t start.
Watch Amanda’s Story ›


Terrie’s Story

We are deeply saddened to announce the passing of Terrie Hall – a true American hero. Terrie appeared in ads run by CDC for the Tips From Former Smokers media campaign, which encouraged several  million smokers to try to quit. Terrie died on September 16th from the effects of the cancer caused by the cigarette smoking she began in high school. Treating her cancer required multiple surgeries over the years, including the loss of her voice box, leaving a hole in her throat.  This summer the cancer spread to her brain, and despite radiation and surgery, the cancer spread further.

Terrie wanted to save people from having to go through the sickness and surgeries she endured.  She decided to let smokers and young people see her disfigurement and know what caused it, so that they would stop smoking – or better still, never start.  She spoke at schools and before other small groups. But the Tips from Former Smokers campaign gave Terrie her biggest platform.  More than a hundred million Americans saw her ads on television, the Internet, in magazines, on billboards and at bus stops – and many of them decided to try to quit smoking.  Strangers came up to her in drugstores and hugged her to thank her for inspiring them to quit.  By her willingness to show and tell people what cigarette smoking had done to her, Terrie saved thousands of American lives.

Our heartfelt condolences go to Terrie’s family and friends, along with our promise that her legacy lives on, inspiring us toward the goal of rapidly ending the death and suffering caused by smoking in America.


Jamason’s Story

18-year-old Jamason was diagnosed with asthma as an infant. He never really understood the dangers of secondhand smoke until it triggered a severe asthma attack. Jamason never smoked cigarettes. Even when friends tried to talk him into having one cigarette, he would reply, “It’s just not cool to smoke.”

Jamason’s worst attack occurred when he was 16, at a fast food restaurant where he worked. He was sweeping close to some coworkers who were smoking, and he started having trouble breathing. He called his mother, frantic for help. She found him at work gasping for air. He was hospitalized for 4 days.


Suzy’s Story

Suzy, age 62, came from a family of smokers, so it wasn’t unusual when she began sneaking cigarettes at age 15. Suzy grew up and married; she and her husband were exemplary entrepreneurs. Both also smoked. Although Suzy had quit smoking when she was pregnant with her second child, she eventually started again, smoking on and off for several years.

In 2007, at age 57, Suzy suffered a stroke, which her doctors linked to her many years of smoking. It was then that she quit smoking for good. The stroke caused her to have partial paralysis and problems with her speech and eyes. Worse yet, it cost Suzy her independence.

Smoking contributes to one in five strokes in the United States. In this TV ad for CDC’s “Tips From Former Smokers” campaign, Suzy talks about losing her independence after smoking caused her to have a stroke.

Podcast: Suzy’s Radio Ad (60 Seconds)


View more of the CDC’s Tips from Smokers Campaign