In the wake of a new study showing high rates of smoking among teens, the Centers for Disease Control issued a new 12-week ad campaign to get people to stop smoking. NBC’s Tom Costello reports.
The federal government today launched a new ad campaign designed to get people, especially teenagers to stop smoking or avoid starting. the cdc says tobacco-related diseases kill under half a million americans each year. there’s been a disturbing uptick in the rate of teenage smoking. they say these ads are graphics and disturbing because they need to be. our report from nbc’s tom costello.
Reporter: for anyone who hasn’t gotten the message about the dangers of smoking, the government’s new ad campaign is designed to shock and horrify.
Reporter: gruesome testimonials from former stoking living with cancer, heart disease and vascular disease .
Carmichael: First it was my left leg. after my left leg it was my right leg.
Carmichael: First it was my left leg. after my left leg it was my right leg.
Reporter: 31-year-old Brandon Carmichael started smoking when he was 15.
Carmichael: If you’re going to start smoking, it can affect you now, not necessarily woe you’re 70, 80, 90.
Reporter: the ad campaign is targeting those who smoke or haven’t started.
Reporter: the ad campaign is targeting those who smoke or haven’t started.
Ads only work if they’re done right. the evidence is clear hard-hitting ads work.
Reporter: it’s a bilingual campaign on tv, online and in print, graphically demonstrating the dangers of smoking. a heart surgery scar, a woman bed-ridden from the effects of a stroke. a young boy suffering the effects of asthma from second-hand smoke. even a former smoker with a stoma so he can breathe. today the majortobacco companies were not objecting to the ads, but in california we found skepticism among the target audience.
Random college type: A lot of people will think that’s not going to happen to me.
Random college type: I don’t see how it relates to a younger person of my generation.
Reporter: with a quarter of all high school seniors smoking every day and 4,000 teenagers starting to smoke every day, this $54 million ad campaign is a drop in the bucket compared to the $10 billion cigarette companies spend on marketing.
Originally written By Tom Costello, NBC News, Washington
