In this color photograph Debi, a middle-aged woman, is exhaling cigarette smoke through a stoma in her neck. Debi began smoking at age 13 and the permanent hole in her neck is a result of smoking-related laryngeal cancer. Debi's situation is a graphic warning to underage smokers. Available in JPEG, PDF, and TIF formats.

This ad shows a young Debi Austin as we hear the real Debi speaking from the present. She explains how the tobacco industry targeted her early on, when she started smoking cigarettes at just 13 years old. The ad transitions to modern Debi after a stoma appears in the mirrored reflection of young Debi – a health effect from cancer surgery caused by smoking – and she warns viewers not to be the tobacco industry’s next victim. Web version available upon request at mcrc@cdc.gov

Debi Austin has a tracheotomy. She tells the audience that smoking did not kill her; it just destroyed her life by giving her cancer. She then discusses how the tobacco industry lies when it says that smoking is not addictive and that it kills a little part of you each day. The message is to quit smoking before it is too late.

A middle-aged woman, Debi Austin, with a very raspy voice briefly explains her inability to quit smoking and then ends the spot by inhaling her cigarette through a stoma (hole) in her throat.