CDC: Tips From Former Smokers - Marie W.’s Story

Marie talks about discovering she had Buerger's disease, an illness caused by smoking, and its effects on her life in this video from CDC's "Tips From Former Smokers" campaign.
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This video can also be viewed at streaming.cdc.gov/vod.php?id=e...
To learn more about tobacco control and prevention, go to BeTobaccoFree.gov

[@LauraWilson19952014]

"I chose to smoke." She owned up to it, and that's good.

[@tazmanstarfighter5113]

My mouth dropped when I saw her poor foot. I'm loosing it when I stub a toe. Never smoked. Glad I never started. If you smoke, please stop. Dad died miserable life for last three years. On oxygen, no lung capacity, shrank from 6'1 to 5'2. Big guy got smaller. I couldn't believe it. I was taller than him. Please people, please stop if you are get the help-your county health department is PAID by the smoking companies for FREE 24/7 help...all free: patches, gum, anything you need to succeed. It works! Just call--get started TODAY. U can stop your suffering in the future. You don't want to go thru this. Still crying for dad. Grandkids miss him badly. He's been gone since 2006:(

[@lovepinkgirl97]

This is soooooo sad and heart breaking to watch, but I want to encourage everyone to NOT smoke and live a long, beautiful, and healthy life!

[@xheathermichelle]

It amazes me how many people STILL choose to smoke even with all the information we know about it, and look at these people sharing their personal experiences from smoking. It blows my mind, and I don't understand WHY anyone would want/continue to smoke!

[@calif1mc]

xheathermichelle Nicotine is more addictive than Heroin, and the tobacco companies have added more to make them even more addictive.

[@thedivas6271]

I just hate seeing people spend money on death.

[@CDC]

We appreciate your concern regarding this issue. Banning tobacco products would be an issue for Congress, not a federal agency. CDC works to educate the public on how to prevent disease and lead longer, healthier lives. This campaign encourages smokers to quit by raising awareness of the human suffering caused by smoking and providing access to resources to help smokers quit.

[@aubreyshamir9354]

I'm doing a speech on the effects of smoking and hopefully I can show my classmates what smoking really does to you, thanks to the information I have found and seen.

[@shanteliannaheartlock2945]

If you are in a middle school you could say "say you have a crush if you smoke you will smell bad you will never get your crush to like you and you will be coughing like crazy and you will die before them. It's living or dying people get your minds straight"

[@tee1992x]

my dad used to smoke and he told me that it was very difficult for him to quit smoking but the reason he stopped smoking was for me. I think parents who smoke should take a second thought if they want to see their kids grow.

[@Atrac89]

How are cigarettes still legal?!

[@michelleluvsmonsters]

Bless her, coming on this commercial. That disease looks atrocious to live with!

[@francoisschubert]

Me too. If I have kids and they think about smoking, I kust refer back to this

[@clivervargas]

I hate when people are smoking do you guys agree

[@katiatannus3146]

Yes

[@johnsonsolomon8766]

Yes

[@tomconfused8441]

Oh God that's worse

[@tomconfused8441]

The video

[@tomconfused8441]

Yes

[@omislash]

I've been smoking for at least 6 years and I know that's not long to some but to me that's along time well I had a hard time trying to quit once I've began to notice I'm close to a pack a day I told myself that I need to quit so now its been 4 days since my last cigarette

[@hollidioso]

I support your cause to help people quit smoking by showing them why it's harmful not just having an ad saying ''don't smoke'' keep up the dedication

[@GoHard4Home]

People smoke cigarettes most of the time to psychologically cope with the situations of the day, even knowing that cancer is a certainty in the future. After this knowledge, its definitely going to lower the statistics down by a lot. Life will be crap, but it will NEVER compare to having to live with the regret of continuing to smoke to cope, everytime you'll have to eyeball your missing limbs every morning, when you made the right decision. This is reality, not a game, a dream or a movie.

[@20899901]

This made me want to cry cause my friend smokes and she's 17, I don't know how to make her understands she'll become addicted if not already :,(

[@kuhndog52]

thank you so much

[@Mr252tone]

I was diagnosed in 2015 came close to losing a toe thankfully I didn't I quit smoking its been 2 years now it was still hard to quit at first even knowing I had the disease

[@Ms3queen]

Out of all the potentially lifelong habits that you could pick up, out of all the things you could start doing, out of everything you could possibly do with your body, why pick tobacco?

[@TheLast2nd]

I'm watching every single one of these videos to finally convince myself to smoke. I don't have enough willpower to do so on my own. ='[

[@CDC]

Encourage your mother to quit smoking and remind her that it may be the most effective thing she can do to improve life expectancy. It will benefit not only her health, but others as well by eliminating secondhand smoke. We know it’s not easy to quit, but there are resources available. For free help, she can call 1-800-QUIT-NOW and speak with a trained cessation counselor or visit women.smokefree.gov.

[@megshafer3961]

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) please just cure lung diseases....it's not the 14th century anymore...have we not had brilliant researchers.....it's the 21st century...why don't you help cure diseases...PLEASE....Isn't that your purpose???

[@sohoyankee66]

Good idea. very happy to know this. I really am. :)

[@Deeredman4]

Not to mention an outright ban on smoking would just cause another prohibition. You have to make people want to quit, you can't just try to force it. That will just drive them deeper into it.

[@kuhndog52]

my mothers been smoking for 35 years. any way i can get her to quit? .....i refuse to see my mother in these conditions

[@1leon000]

she had beuger's diesease since '95.

[@bruhtopia8193]

I try to get my parents to stop smoking so to everyone who has their parents smoking litsen to me. When I grow older in gunna feel my mom and dad that they can't see my kids till they stop smoking.

[@420squeeg]

It's a nice thought, but prohibition of tobacco products would only cause them to be moved on to the black market. Think about the legal status of marijuana, yet it is still VERY widely used (and awesome). That would result in people being imprisoned for using or selling tobacco products. The social cost for incarcerating smokers would almost certainly outweigh the current cost. It sucks, but that's the truth. Just look at alcohol prohibition. I am NOT a tobacco user.

[@Sparks52]

Andrew -- I don't believe refusing to see your mother is going to help. It would likely only result in an estrangement very difficult to repair. You're giving her an ultimatum and people do NOT respond well to one. I would NOT quit under those conditions lest they believe I did so because of an ultimatum; giving in to one would only lead to more. Think long and hard about doing this. I predict you will NOT achieve the desired result, and will eventually rue what does result from it.

[@Dumich12]

He's right.

[@danielferstendig]

thank god she didn't loose her arms and legs

[@ginger4jesuschristmww142]

Smoking is a life choice like how wearing your seat belt should be a life choice if you are warned about the dangers of smoking and people still do it because they think its fun cool or it helps them when they are stressed out then let them do it they know the risk and consequence

[@sterlingraynor655]

Well said

[@stevenjeffreys2198]

You can get Buerger's disease by Genetics as well.

[@megshafer3961]

Steven Jeffreys How true...it is a genetic disease....this is commercial is a "alternative fact".....

[@Ms3queen]

You can be put at risk for just about everything by genes, but this is one of those things that you don't tend to get just from genes. Because of family history, I'm at risk for all the types of diabetes (type 1, type 2, and gestational), but I don't have any diabetes so far (and gestational I won't get unless some guy sexually assaults me, so there's that.) Because of family history, I'm at risk for cancers, but, so far, I'm okay there, too (though I did have a bit of a scare once, but the mole turned out to be benign thank goodness). Genes put me at risk for so many mental disorders, but, so far, I only have 3 (depression, GAD, and cyclophobia). Genes put me at risk for lupus, Sjogren's, other autoimmune disorders, arthritis, eczema, many allergies (I do have some - including one to tobacco, btw - but none of them are as bad as some of the ones that family members of mine have [seriously, the worst it gets with me is mild to moderate hives, whereas most of my family has at least one severe allergy]), etc. But I don't have everything that I'm genetically predisposed to.

[@Ms3queen]

Your comment got me curious, and I looked it up. According to Mayo Clinic, while some people may be genetically predisposed to Buerger's disease, it isn't entirely genetic, and, on their list of risk factors, smoking is right on top: www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/buergers-disease/symptoms-causes/dxc-20179162 And, since you should always use more than one source for information, here's a page from the NIH's thing about genetic and rare diseases, where they say, and I quote, "Buerger disease nearly always occurs in association with cigarette or other tobacco use. Quitting all forms of tobacco is an essential part of treatment.": rarediseases.info.nih.gov/diseases/5969/buerger-disease/cases/25004 And, if you Google the term "Buerger's disease", the definition that pops up says, "inflammation and thrombosis in small and medium-sized blood vessels, typically in the legs and leading to gangrene. _It has been associated with smoking._" (emphasis mine.)

[@youngestfall2475]

Stop smoking is very good

[@__bambooz]

What

[@1000hugs123123123]

HER FINGERNAILS ARE GONE :O

[@johnskogman5623]

And your voice starts to sound more like a mans voice after smoking. Another reason to quit.

[@155chipmunkz]

I know a lot of women with deep voices who have never touched cigarettes.

[@BuffaloBetties]

I'm sure the CDC & network TV have the best of intentions with these commercials, & I feel so sorry for those in them. But they have gotten out of control to the point of being disturbing, annoying, gross, offensive, harassing attacks on us in our homes by bombarding us with these gross commercials every 5-10 minutes throughout the day.... Peaking on national news hours during our meal times makes us instantly loose our appetite. I haven't watched the news on network TV in weeks because these commercial attacks throughout the broadcasts. We have to change the channel or shut off the TV as soon as they come on. Yesterday it was so bad we couldn't watch network TV all day because these commercials. It wouldn't be so bad if they were on once a couple hours, or a few times a day. But they are been run constantly during the news & meals. These commercials accomplish nothing if all the do is make people turn, walk away, change the channel, or shut off the TV. We have a new rule in our house now. No network TV an hour before or during meals thanks to these commercials. There's a form of internet harassment called goatsee. It's when trolls post unsolicited photos to unsuspecting forums or internet groups of the most horrid, gross, & disturbing pictures they can find in the world. Goatsee is a form of internet harassment & doesn't help anybody's cause! It's intended to ruin & shut down forums & groups on the internet. I WILL NOT BE HARASSED BY GOATSEE ON MY TV EVERY 5-10 MINTUTES!!! It's a gross product of sick minds, & not useful advertisement. It does not belong on my TV every 5-10 minutes all day.

[@jron9583]

They should legalise smoking

[@chancelewis1846]

You're messed up.