Your patients' stories can save lives.


CDC is recruiting participants to feature in a future Tips From Former Smokers®(Tips®) campaign. The Tips campaign helped approximately 1 million people successfully quit smoking from 2012-2018.

Help us recruit new participants for CDC’s Tips campaign.

CDC is recruiting participants to be part of the Tips From Former Smokers® (Tips®) campaign. Similar to previous years, the campaign will feature real people who have had life-changing, smoking-related health problems and their loved ones who care for them.

Geri M., Tips participant

We are conducting a national search to find people with compelling stories about the impact smoking has had on their life and who are willing to participate in the campaign. We are asking for your help identifying people who might be interested. All applicants will be treated with dignity, respect, and sensitivity. Please share this site with patients who fit the criteria and encourage them to submit their story for consideration.

Qualifying Smoking-Related Illnesses

We are looking for people who used to smoke cigarettes and have a smoking-related condition or diagnosis including, but not limited to:

  • Cancer
  • Cardiovascular disease
  • Stroke
  • Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or another smoking-related lung disease

We are additionally looking for people who used to smoke and have a diagnosed mental health condition such as depression or anxiety.

The association between smoking cigarettes and the health condition of the person who used to smoke must be clear. Candidates for the Tips campaign must have quit smoking at least six months ago and have remained quit. With the candidate’s permission, we will contact their physician to verify and sign a document stating that smoking caused or contributed to the candidate’s health condition.

We are additionally seeking candidates that have a family member or other loved one who has been caring for them and is also willing to share their story.

From 2012-2018, the campaign has helped result in:


1 million

quits

16.4 million

quit attempts

129,000

early deaths prevented

Materials To Share

Tips Participant Recruitment Flyer, with a montage of past participants
Tips Recruitment Flyer
Download (Digital) | Download (Print)
Tips Caregiver Recruitment Flyer, with a married couple who were past participants of the campaign
Tips Caregiver Recruitment Flyer
Download (Digital) | Download (Print)
Tiffany-Lowe-Payne-DO

“As an osteopathic physician, much of what we do involves helping patients make lifestyle modifications – and smoking cessation is an important part of that. The Tips From Former Smokers® campaign and accompanying materials absolutely helped to increase the number of conversations we had with patients about making the decision to quit.”

Tiffany Lowe-Payne, DO - Campbell University, School of Osteopathic Medicine

MichaelC.-Fiore-MD

“Most people who smoke ‘want to quit’. The Tips® campaign provides real-world, practical reasons regarding the ‘why to quit’. Tips® has been enormously effective in motivating patients who smoke across our nation. For more patients than I can count, it started the conversations that resulted in successful cessation.”

Michael C. Fiore, MD - University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Member, National Academy of Medicine

Richard-Bryce-DO

“I’m so grateful for the Tips From Former Smokers® campaign. As a result of all the materials, we saw a dramatic increase in smoking cessation and quit attempts. Thank you, CDC, for your support.”

Richard Bryce, DO - Chief Medical Officer, Community Health and Social Services Center, Detroit, MI