Smokers Hotline Sees Uptick In Calls Due To National Ad Campaign

Wisconsin’s Tobacco Quit Line has seen a surge of calls since March, when a national campaign called Tips from Former Smokers started.

A University of Wisconsin (UW) Madison tobacco researcher calls the campaign “hard hitting” and personal.

You’ve probably seen the ads on television or the internet: former smokers telling gut-wrenching stories about their health problems. Those public service announcements are the work of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

One features a 44-year-old Wisconsin man identified only as Shane who tells his cancer story with the help of an electrolarynx. Through a hole in his throat, Shane relates how he grew up with a family that smoked and used chewing tobacco: “Everybody in my family had smoked. My parents would smoke; my oldest brother smoked.”

A week before the CDC’s campaign began, the Wisconsin Tobacco Quit Line got 224 calls. The week after the ads, quit line calls surged to 462. The newest twist to the ads is a tagline urging viewers to talk to their doctor about smoking.

Dr. Michael Fiore is with the UW School of Medicine and Public Health.

“In the past, these ads have urged smokers to call the Wisconsin Tobacco Quit line or to go on the smokefree.gov website for help, but what we know based on the statistics but what we know is that 7 out of 10 smokers see their doctor at least once a year. “

Fiore directs the UW Center for Tobacco Research and Intervention. He says medication and counseling are four times better than smokers trying to quit on their own.

Check out Shane’s television ad below.