The New Anti-Smoking Ads Are Surprisingly Powerful

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released their new anti-smoking ads online June 24, and they are almost impossible to ignore.

The ads, which encourage people to quit smoking, feature former smokers talking about what it's actually like to live with the effects of smoking-related problems ranging from gum disease to cancer. They include sad, deadpan "tips from former smokers," like: "When you have a hole in your neck, don't face the shower head."

The new ads "highlight illnesses and suffering caused by smoking that people don't commonly associate with cigarette use," said CDC Director Tom Frieden in a statement. "Smokers have told us these ads help them quit by showing what it's like to live every day with disability and disfigurement from smoking."

Watch them all below. (Warning: Some of these videos contain graphic images.)

Amanda, 30, couldn't stop smoking while pregnant. Her baby was born two months early.

Brett, 49, starting smoking at age 16. By 42, he had lost almost all of his teeth to gum disease.

Rose, 59, talks about the extraordinary pain associated with her lung cancer.

Shawn, 50, started smoking when he was 14. He developed lung cancer and now speaks and breathes through a hole in his throat.

Terrie, 53, died from the cancer she got from smoking.

The ads will air nationwide beginning July 7.