Woman Featured in CDC's Anti-Smoking Ads Dies of Cancer

Terrie Hall, the North Carolina woman who stars in the CDC’s incredibly effective anti-smoking commercials, lost her battle with cancer on Monday.

Hall was a pivotal part of the CDC’s Tips From Former Smokers campaign, showcasing the physical consequences of her cigarette addiction, having to wear a wig, false teeth, and a scarf to cover up the hole in her throat from her voice box.

A new study conducted by the CDC found that the ads are working. It estimated that the PSAs may have prompted up to 100,000 people to quit smoking.

Hall was diagnosed with oral and throat cancer at 40. The disease spread to her brain this summer. She died at a hospital in Winston-Salem, NC (home to heavy hitter brands in the tobacco industry like Winston, Salem, Camel, Lucky Strike, Kool and Pall Mall). She was 53.