The CDC's new anti-smoking ads are terrifying
Not to be outdone by New York City's horrifying #PouringonthePounds campaign, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention has released a truly scary new set of anti-smoking ads, complete with "tips" from former smokers.
The graphic advertisements feature serious health conditions that have resulted from smoking, including neck holes, premature births, tooth loss, gum disease, and cancer, in an effort to scare people out of smoking.
Another set of advertisements the CDC released in February generated more than 100,000 calls to the CDC's hotline, 1-800-QUIT-NOW. Time reports that weekly calls to the quit line were up 80 percent while the ads were live.
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.
Starting July 7, the ads will be sent to cable TV, on the radio, in print, on billboards, in movie theaters, and online. You can also watch the ads now over at the CDC's official website.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Meghan DeMaria is a staff writer at TheWeek.com. She has previously worked for USA Today and Marie Claire.
-
‘The economics of WhatsApp have been mysterious for years’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Will Democrats impeach Kristi Noem?Today’s Big Question Centrists, lefty activists also debate abolishing ICE
-
Is a social media ban for teens the answer?Talking Point Australia is leading the charge in banning social media for people under 16 — but there is lingering doubt as to the efficacy of such laws
-
Trump HHS slashes advised child vaccinationsSpeed Read In a widely condemned move, the CDC will now recommend that children get vaccinated against 11 communicable diseases, not 17
-
FDA OKs generic abortion pill, riling the rightSpeed Read The drug in question is a generic version of mifepristone, used to carry out two-thirds of US abortions
-
RFK Jr. vaccine panel advises restricting MMRV shotSpeed Read The committee voted to restrict access to a childhood vaccine against chickenpox
-
Texas declares end to measles outbreakSpeed Read The vaccine-preventable disease is still spreading in neighboring states, Mexico and Canada
-
RFK Jr. shuts down mRNA vaccine funding at agencySpeed Read The decision canceled or modified 22 projects, primarily for work on vaccines and therapeutics for respiratory viruses
-
Measles cases surge to 33-year highSpeed Read The infection was declared eliminated from the US in 2000 but has seen a resurgence amid vaccine hesitancy
-
Kennedy's vaccine panel signals skepticism, changeSpeed Read RFK Jr.'s new vaccine advisory board intends to make changes to the decades-old US immunization system
-
Kennedy ousts entire CDC vaccine advisory panelspeed read Health Secretary RFK Jr. is a longtime anti-vaccine activist who has criticized the panel of experts
