Scary Anti-Smoking Ad Campaign Inspires 1.6 Million Americans to Attempt to Quit Smoking
A scary anti-smoking ad campaign has led to over 1.6 million people attempting to quit, according to the Center for Disease Control. The widespread campaign, which cost $54 million and ran between May and June of 2012, could end up saving 100,000 lives- those who permanently give up the cancer-causing habit.
The scary anti-smoking ad campaign was run by the CDC and funded through the U.S. via the Affordable Care Act, known now by opponents and proponents as Obamacare. The graphic ads blatantly depicted the shocking harms of smoking, including those with amputated limbs, facial paralysis, emphysema, strokes, and even a tracheotomy- a hole in the throat so that one can breathe.
"I wish we could make upbeat, happy ads," Tim McAfee, the director of the CDC Office on Smoking and Health, told USA Today. But smokers, whom they interviewed before making the ads, hardly respond to "positive" messaging, he admitted.
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The need for the campaign came after reviewing the statistics regarding smokers attempting to quit. The CDC found that Americans who smoked steadily decreased until only 1 in 5 Americans identified as smokers, but then that number hit a plateau. In order to stem the next decrease in smoking, the shocking campaign was orchestrated.
3,051 smokers and 2,220 non-smokers were surveyed in the CDC study published in The Lancet, and around 75 percent said they saw the ads, which are called "Tips From Former Smokers." Based on the study, it's estimated that 1.6 million smokers attempted to quit, which is 12 percent more than normal.
Only 6 percent of those who attempt to quit smoking succeed on average, which amounts to about 100,000 people ultimately extending their lives by about 10 years- calculated to about $200 for every year of life saved, the CDC calls it the most effective campaign they've had in years.
