I recently saw this CDC anti-smoking campaign ad and it really hit me hard. I couldn’t stop thinking about it.
It struck me that had I seen this before I quit smoking it wouldn’t have convinced me to quit. I would have watched it as I would a horror film, probably lighting up as soon as it was over and going on about my day, my way, as an addict. 
The one truth I’ve learned during my own quit and from other’s stories is that your quit has to be your decision and for you. Nothing anyone says or does will cause you to put those smokes down once and for all. It’s got to come from within. It’s got to be you. 
My fear is in what way the effects of all those years of smoking are going to show up. Will it be my teeth, jaw, heart, lungs, feet, and/or etc., etc? It’s coming, eventually. I know it. It has to. I just hope that I can draw on the strength it took for me to quit to see me through any complications that arise. 
All in all, I’m thankful there are Stop Smoking campaigns out there. If they can give a smoker pause to consider exactly what they are doing to themselves and what they can expect in the future soberly enough to try quitting for good then they are worth it. 
So if you are here reading this and wanting to quit look these ads up. Listen to their stories, read the stories posted on this forum. They help. They help so much. But ultimately it’s you. Just you, the addict and the substance of your addiction. And yes, there is victory to be had. You just have to fight for it. 

 

You're absolutely correct @Gus! It IS our decision and ours alone that lead all of us to quit. No one and no images ever made a difference in terms of influencing us to quit. That must come from within for whatever reason and at whatever time is right for us as individuals. That's just the way it is.

We can't change what we did in our past or the decisions we made but we can celebrate that we found the courage & willpower to quit and that IS important! It's a huge achievement and at least we are no longer adding to the damage we've caused ourselves over our smoking years. That's all we can do and it's critical that we maintain our quit status for the same reason. We can't take back our smoking years and we will always be addicts but we can quite comfortably be non-practicing addicts.

The Quittrain can't start a quit but we can make the process much easier with knowledge, experiences, and encouragement.  A new quitter does not have to be alone.  Take a leap of faith.

I had hundreds of failed quits behind me 

It was a case it won’t happen to me .

Until it did 

I was given a choice 

Carry on smoking or face amputation on both feet .

I was lucky … I found this group of people 

there is a hell of a lot if folks not so . 
Yes it my decision 

everyone has a journey to get here 

Those that take a seat here are given a great opportunity to change their lives xx

Beautiful post @Gus

 

I did have the thought that if nothing convinced us to quit when we smoked; and that video will likely not convince anyine also, what exactly will?

 

During the initial days of my quit, I wanted to (and did as well with some folks) tell everyone - friends, strangers - that they could quit also.  Don't think it convinced anyone though which was a bit disappointing.

Edited June 27, 20242 yr by d2e8b8

@Gus great post and insight.  Those CDC commercials (that one plus the lady with the trach, and the man with the heart surgery scar) have been around for quite awhile.  They have recently started airing again. I remember seeing them early in my quit. 
 

Oddly enough- I have friends that work at CDC- even worked on the anti-smoking campaigns.   There is a shift in the messaging.  If you see the newer anti-smoking  ads (the ones for menthol cigs) - the focus is being mad at Big Tobacco.  The sleazy marketing Big T used to lure certain demographics.   That shift (continuing to expose the lies) will hopefully resonate vs the bad things happen to smokers approach.  
 

How many smokers read the warning labels on their packs while opening it, taking out a cigarette and lighting it? Or just plain avoid looking at the label-or don’t look because their talking, watching TV etc.   

 

I read the labels.  Didn’t stop me. 

 

What if the labels listed the annual profits to Big T and/or the annual cost to one person to treat smoking related illness(es). 
 

Learning about addiction (Allen Carr)& the corruption of Big T really guided me in my quit…

…And the online support! 😘

 

L4L

Now that it's been mentioned in this thread, I too have noticed they are running a similar set of TV commercials here in Canada recently too! It's not the same lady but a very similar woman that's talking about how her experience has affected her entire family. There's another one with a guy in it but here, it wouldn't be CDC based ads but Health Canada I think - same idea. 

 

As we all know though, those ads don't seem to have any immediate effect on convincing people to quit. Maybe they play them hoping for a subliminal effect later on when the people think about quitting on their own?

I can't watch the following ad without crying, in large part because the man bears a striking resemblance to my brother, who died a terrible death from lung cancer at age 42.

 

https://www.google.com/search?q=que+sera+sera+smoking+ad&oq=que+sera+sera+smoking+ad&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIHCAEQIRigATIHCAIQIRigATIHCAMQIRigATIHCAQQIRigATIHCAUQIRigAdIBCDU1ODRqMGo3qAIAsAIA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:24cf3297,vid:8TCS9LbihCQ,st:0

On 6/26/2024 at 10:35 PM, d2e8b8 said:

During the initial days of my quit, I wanted to (and did as well with some folks) tell everyone - friends, strangers - that they could quit also.  Don't think it convinced anyone though which was a bit disappointing.

Same with me. I guess, as with any addiction, the addict has to reach their own personal ‘rock bottom’.

On 6/27/2024 at 1:39 PM, Lust4Life2016 said:

What if the labels listed the annual profits to Big T and/or the annual cost to one person to treat smoking related illness(es). 

Yeah, I think the anger this would cause someone would just fuel the need for another cigarette. I don’t know. While the ultimate responsibility for our smoking lies with us, Big T definitely should be held accountable for engineering their product to keep us hooked. I also think that a certain number of nicotine addicts would band together and start some kind of revolution. But most books and Hollywood almost always portray revolutionists as smokers. HaHa NOT funny really. Just an aspect of the Big T’s web. 

That video is so very, very sad @Christian99 and I’m sorry that your brothers death was so hard and terrible. My husbands death was the same although his cancer was not smoking related. 

22 hours ago, Gus said:

That video is so very, very sad @Christian99 and I’m sorry that your brothers death was so hard and terrible. My husbands death was the same although his cancer was not smoking related. 

Thank you, Gus.  I wish you peace and comfort in your loss.  

 

C99

Apologies to Christian 99 for pressing the wrong button on your post..

Its hard to lose a loved one to a smoking related illness ..I watch my hubby die slowly from Emphysema …very sad …

Gday

These types will of adds set up a world that says “smoking is bad…..”

Then comes that personal thing in your own  life that pushes you over that line.

Me it was pneumonia.

Then it became.

“Smoking was bad…. For Me!