New graphic warning labels for cigarettes

TYLER (KYTX) - Recently the FDA unveiled new graphic warning labels for cigarettes.


They're not even on the packs yet, but people are already responding.
Calls started pouring into national smoking cessation hotlines.
More than doubling in numbers just days after people saw those images.
But many smokers here in East Texas say it won't affect whether or not they light up.
Rusty Walker has smoked for 43 years, and knows all the dangers.

"All the information is here, just a matter of making the choice to stop," says Walker.
So he decided to buy an electronic cigarette at Tobacco Junction in Tyler.
And he doesn't feel disturbing images on the pack could make any difference for anyone else.

"It's like seeing a billboard everyday, after a while, doesn't notice it," says Walker.
Just after the images debuted quit line calls nationwide nearly doubled.
whether it be a cessation class, whether it be a nicotine replacement, whether it be motivation to quit, people are looking for that and this is a good tool, great way to get motivation they need," says Lorri Essary with the East Texas Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse. She says 75% of smokers are looking for a way to snuff the habit.

"Takes out the marketing appeal," says Essary  before you open the pack and light up, you'll see the graphic images right on the front. Cancerous tumors, rotten teeth and gums, where you can't miss it.
"When I grab a pack my hand wraps around it and can't see anything except the tip of the cigarette," says Bill Harley, smoker for 40 years.

"Only so many ways to warn people to not do it. Can read or look at it, it's the same," says Savannah Sterling, a cashier at Tobacco Junction. Some will look beyond those warnings and images and keep going, but others hope to put the habit in their past."Wish me luck," says Walker. Speaking with organizations here in East Texas, they think the images will have an impact on the number of calls they receive.
They're going to have to wait a year to see.

Also worth noting...

Advantage E-cigarette is currently offering a free sample e-cigarette. Go to http://www.advantageecigs.com/free/ there is a short video explaining e-cigarettes and free sample offer.