Smoking is the leading preventable cause of death in the U.S. In this Director's Briefing video, CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden talks about the launch of the second phase of CDC's successful "Tips from Former Smokers" campaign, which shows real people, not actors, dealing with the terrible effects of smoking. Big tobacco continues to spend millions of dollars a day on cigarette advertising and promotion. CDC's campaign shows the reality: Smokers face illness, disability, disfigurement, and death as a result of their tobacco use. Quitting smoking is hard but worth it for those who smoke and the people around them (www.smokefree.gov). Comments on this video are allowed in accordance with our comment policy: http://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/CommentPolicy.html This video can also be viewed at http://streaming.cdc.gov/vod.php?id=05ae25c4ba291c44faae49571409706920130326153026007