CHICAGO, IL | April 1, 2019
Statement of Harold Wimmer, President and CEO of the American Lung Association, in response to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) launch of the 2019 “Tips from Former Smokers” campaign:
"Today's launch of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s 2019 ‘Tips from Former Smokers’ marks the eighth year of this lifesaving awareness campaign, profiling real people with serious health conditions caused by smoking and secondhand smoke exposure. The CDC estimates that the ‘Tips’ campaign has inspired more than nine million smokers to make a quit attempt, with more than half a million of them quitting for good.
“Most people know quitting smoking is the best thing to do for their health, yet only about one in 10 smokers quit each year. And smoking still remains the leading cause of preventable death and disease in the U.S., killing more than 480,000 Americans each year. For each person who dies because of smoking, at least 30 people live with a serious smoking-related illness, including cancer, heart disease, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, diabetes complications, preterm birth, depression, anxiety and vision loss.
“Americans deserve the encouragement and support, including access to evidence-based treatment, to overcome their tobacco addiction. It’s clear that campaigns like ‘Tips’ need to be sustained into the future. The Lung Association thanks the CDC for continuing this inspiring and lifesaving campaign. We also want to commend the ‘Tips’ campaign participants for having the courage to tell their stories of the long-term health effects of smoking and secondhand smoke. To us, they are heroes, and they are inspiring hundreds of thousands of people to overcome tobacco addiction.”
Learn more about tobacco cessation, including the American Lung Association's proven-effective quit smoking program Freedom From Smoking® at FreedomFromSmoking.org. For media interested in speaking with an expert about tobacco use and quitting smoking, contact the American Lung Association at [email protected] or 312-801-7628.
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The American Lung Association is the leading organization working to save lives by improving lung health and preventing lung disease through education, advocacy and research. The work of the American Lung Association is focused on four strategic imperatives: to defeat lung cancer; to champion clean air for all; to improve the quality of life for those with lung disease and their families; and to create a tobacco-free future. For more information about the American Lung Association, which has a 4-star rating from Charity Navigator and is a Platinum-Level GuideStar Member, call 1-800-LUNGUSA (1-800-586-4872) or visit: Lung.org. To support the work of the American Lung Association, find a local event at Lung.org/events.
For more information, contact:
Allison MacMunn
312-801-7628
[email protected]
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