The National Alliance for Hispanic Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently joined forces to launch the education campaign, "The Tips from Former Smokers (Tips)," which features advice from Hispanics who quit smoking to help others quit smoking.

The Spanish- and English-language ads feature real people, including a 40-year-old woman named Beatrice who, at the age of seven, tried cigarettes at the insistence of friends. Beatrice spoke about the importance of a support systems and being in good health for families. Also, in the ad, she shared with smokers, "you are going to need support" and "I want to offer hope to people that it is possible to join the ranks of nonsmokers." According the campaign, nearly 70 percent of smokers report that they want to quit smoking, and the initiate aims to offer important resources.

The nation ads will run through mid-August to raise awareness about the dangers and smoking and provide tips on how to quit the nicotine habit.

"If you smoke, quitting is the single best thing you can do for your health and for your loved ones," said Jane L. Delgado, Ph.D., M.S., President and CEO of the National Alliance for Hispanic Health (the Alliance) in a press release.

The ads will feature former smokers and their stories that highlight smoking-related health conditions not normally associated with cigarette use, it will promote the benefits of quitting for loved ones, and it will encourage smokers and tobacco users to call 1-800-QUIT NOW (1-855-DéJELO-YA) for free support.

"These former smokers are helping save tens of thousands of lives by sharing their powerful stories of how smoking has affected them," said CDC Director Tom Frieden, M.D., M.P.H. The CDC published insights, stating that smoking is one of the leading causes of needless death and disease: for every person who dies from a smoking-related disease, about 30 more suffer at least one serious illness from smoking.

The NAHH will work with Nuestras Voces (Our Voices) Network and 11 regional subnetwork partners magnify the prime goals of the Tips campaign, which are to end tobacco use and cigarettes impact of cancer in Hispanic community. Additionally, the contributing organizations will offer one-on-one as support via bilingual mobile messaging, social media and traditional media.

Learn more about Tips on the CDC site.

Related