Vartanian 1

Tina Vartanian
English 115
Mary Griffith
15 November 2014
A Tip From a Former Smoker
Everywhere we look, we see advertisements. Whether we realize it or not, we are
surrounded with ads constantly telling us what to buy, wear, do, see, even how to think. Over the
decades, the media has gained control over our society. It dictates what is socially accepted and
how we should act. For example in the 1900s the world viewed smoking cigarettes to be a very
cool, sexy, and harmless habit due to the advertisements tobacco companies would release. After
a century, we have realized that those ads could not be more wrong. In an effort to stop cigarette
smoking, organizations such as the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC, and the
Food and Drug Administration, FDA, have launched a series of advertisements that show the
results of smoking. They call it A Tip From A Former Smoker. The advertisements created by
the CDC, target younger generations in order to help them see that smoking is only going to
harm them in the future; they convey this message by using actual people who have suffered the
wrath from the cigarettes.
Throughout the decades, society has become aware of how harmful and even lethal
cigarettes can be. According to the article Cigarette Smoking in the United States by the
Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Cigarette smoking kills more than 480,000
Americans each year, with more than 41,000 of these deaths from exposure to secondhand
smoke (1). This alarmingly high number of Americans that are affected by cigarettes is what
has caused many organizations to advertise the repercussions of smoking. One specific

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advertisement that was created by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, was a photo of
a woman whom after years of smoking developed throat cancer, and as a result lost her ability to
speak thus has a voice box. In the advertisement, she is holding a picture of her grandson and in
big white letters it says, ...Record your voice for your loved ones while you still can... In small
font, it states that she is only 52 years old. As one looks her picture, it is clear that the effects of
tobacco smoke is not only harmful on the inside but the outside as well. Her jawline is
diminishing, giving the structure of her face a complete new look, for the worse. At the bottom
of the advertisement it says, Smoking causes immediate damage to your body. For Terrie, it
gave her throat cancer. You can quit. For free help, call 1-800-QUIT-NOW.
This specific advertisement really affected me, because it not only showed her physical
pain but her emotional heartache as well. Due to her addiction to nicotine and cigarettes, her
health was compromised in more ways than one. In order for Terrie to survive, doctors had to
perform an operation known as total laryngectomy. In the article, Surgery For Cancer of the
Voice Box the authors explain how it is an operation in which, ...A permanent hole [is] made
by the surgeon in the lower part of your neck (1). This whole is meant to allow the individual
such as Terrie to breathe. In addition to losing her voice and ability to communicate normally,
she lost her ability to perform everyday tasks. She can no longer enjoy a swim, or even shower
comfortably. Terrie has even lost the ability to eat what she desires. After years of smoking
cigarettes she has increased her vulnerability to infections and decreased her life expectancy.
These advertisements are targeting [the] youth because almost all tobacco use begins
during youth and young adulthood (Simon 2). According to the American Lung Association,
...68 percent [of adults who smoke] began smoking regularly at age 18 or younger, and 85
percent started when they were 21 or younger These statistics are very disturbing and

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concerning. The actions that these teenagers make are going to affect them for the rest of their
life. At that age, it is very difficult to get through to the teenagers because they believe they
know what is best for themselves. This is why, the CDC creates such raw, uncensored, real
advertisements. These advertisements are aimed towards the younger generations as a warning
sign. If the addiction to smoking does not stop, what their lives hold for them are years of pain
and discomfort. This advertisement is also directed to people who are currently addicted to
cigarettes. The ad states, ...record your voice as if this is the path they are headed so they
should prepare their last words. The purpose of these types of advertisements is to show
Americans their futures if they continue to smoke.
Organizations such as CDC, choose former smokers such as Terri Hall, who have
suffered from smoking cigarettes in an attempt to save the younger generations from
experiencing the same struggles. Jennifer Broderick, author of CDC Rolls Out Graphic AntiSmoking Ads to Warn Smokers of Consequences, was proud to report that "Last year's
campaign exceeded [with] very high expectations, and this year's campaign continues in that
vein of showing the realities of smoking (1). Towards the end of Brodericks article, she quotes
Dr. Frienden that "...today and every day this year, more than 1,200 people will be killed by
tobacco, and today and throughout this year 8 million people are living with disease, disability
and disfigurement caused by tobacco -- that's the reality" (1). The raw photographs of these
victims creates a sympathetic reaction for anyone who looks at these advertisements.
These advertisements that the CDC puts out for the public shows the severe
consequences that smoking causes on our bodies. They do this, by using rhetorical appeals such
as ethos, logos, and pathos. The advertisements created by the CDC, establishes ethos by writing
their name on the bottom of the advertisement. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention is

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known for their credible information therefore allowing viewers to believe that the content in the
ad is true. Another rhetoric used in this advertisement is the use of pathos. The ad itself is very
disturbing; however, reading the words ...Record your voice for your loved ones while you still
can... while holding a photograph of her grandson causes a very emotional reaction for the
viewer. It causes the viewer to sympathize with Terrie, as well as never want that type of pain for
themselves. Lastly, by relating the advertisement to specific audiences and giving them the
opportunity to seek help creates the rhetorical appeal logos. These ads not only show the harmful
effects tobacco has on our bodies, but our emotions as well.
In all, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention creates advertisements in which
show the consequences that former smokers have acquired. The advertisement I chose was of
Terrie Hall, a grandmother who has lost her ability to speak because of her addiction to
cigarettes. The bold advertisement is targetting the youth because the younger generations are
more likely to become smokers. Fortunately, these advertisements are working. They are being
taken seriously and have helped many smokers stop smoking and prevented 1000s of others from
ever starting.

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Works Cited
CDC Rolls Out Graphic Anti-Smoking Ads to Warn Smokers of Consequences. Counsel Heal
Top
News. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Nov. 2014.
Children and Teens - American Lung Association. American Lung Association. N.p., n.d.
Web. 15
Nov. 2014.
Cigarette Smoking in the United States. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers
for
Disease Control and Prevention, 14 Aug. 2014. Web. 15 Nov. 2014.
FDA and CDC Launch Anti- Tobacco Advertising Campaigns. FDA and CDC Launch AntiTobacco Advertising Campaigns. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Nov. 2014.
Surgery for Cancer of the Voice Box (larynx). - Cancer Information. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Nov.
2014.