Prepare yourself for more graphic anti-smoking ads
This video will make you squirm

By now you've probably been properly jarred by 52-year-old Terrie Hall and her heartbreaking, hard-to-watch morning routine. And if you're a fan of the squirm-inducing anti-smoking ad — or have ever thought to yourself, "This is enjoyable! More, please!" — we have some good news for you: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are planning to launch phase two of this graphic anti-smoking campaign, meaning more commercials like Ms. Hall's are coming to a tube near you. Reports the Associated Press:
Last year's similar $54 million campaign was the agency's first and largest national advertising effort. The government deemed it a success: That campaign triggered an increase of 200,000 calls to quit lines. The CDC believes that likely prompted tens of thousands of smokers to quit based on calculations that a certain percentage of callers do actually stop. [Associated Press]
And so the CDC is putting another $48 million behind this initiative, including spots on TV, online, in print, and on radio. "Most smokers want to quit. These ads encourage them to try," says CDC director Tom Frieden.
What kind of ads can we expect? According to the AP, the new campaign "tilts more toward the impact smokers have on others" rather than the sufferers themselves. Expect an ad featuring a cheerleader who experiences frequent asthma attacks from being around too much cigarette smoke, as well as a "Louisiana woman who was 16 when her mother died from smoking-related causes."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A 2012 Gallup poll indicates that smoking is down among young adults, college students, and people who live on the East Coast. The figures suggest that only one in five U.S. adults now smoke, which is tied for an all-time low.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
'There is a lot riding on the deal for both sides'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Pharaoh's tomb discovered for first time in 100 years
Speed Read This is the first burial chamber of a pharaoh unearthed since Tutankhamun in 1922
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Microsoft unveils quantum computing breakthrough
Speed Read Researchers say this advance could lead to faster and more powerful computers
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published