They're graphic, disturbing and painful to watch, but they're working. New anti-smoking ads are out, showing real people and the very real damage smoking has caused.
"My fingers started to go, piece by piece," says a woman in one television ad.
In another ad, former smokers with throat cancer are featured, saying "when you have a hole in your neck, don't face the water. Suction out your tube before you eat."
"You're hearing them more and more every single day on the radio, on TV and everytime I hear it, I think 'oh great' you know, here it is again," says James Lavine, a smoker in Tampa.
James Lavine promised to kick the habit after his father, who smoked for decades, got sick.
"I know it's unhealthy. I really do want to try to quit because I don't like it," Lavine said.
Many others are trying too.
"Most smokers I know do want to quit eventually. It's just something they took up and they can't stop," said smoker Francesca Martin.
But for many smokers, these ads are doing the trick. Just two weeks after hitting the air, the Centers for Disease Control says calls to the CDC's Quit Hotline more than doubled, hitting a record high last month.
"I think they're over the top really. They're just for shock value," says smoker Dan Sutter. "I think it's more of a personal choice. I don't think you should be swayed either way by some scary ad on television."
Dan Sutter says he smokes a pack a day, which he admits is too much.
Even so, he's not ready to quit.
"Every day I get a little bit closer. I cut down. Sometimes I stop for a few days and pick it back up," he says.
The new ads aren't just on television. They're on the radio, billboards, newspapers and here online. You can expect to see them for the next couple of months.
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