EUGENE LEVY STARS IN NEW IN-THEATER PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT RELEASED
NATIONWIDE
LOS ANGELES, May 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Eugene Levy, comedic actor and star
of dozens of blockbuster movies, appears in a new in-theater public service
announcement released by the American Cancer Society, Entertainment
Industry Foundation (EIF), and Will Rogers Institute that offers help to
people who want to quit smoking. The goal is to reach millions of
moviegoers across the country with this 30-second spot. Leading networks,
Screenvision and National CineMedia, are running the PSA. Together, these
networks reach thousands of movie screens and will reach millions of people
across the country.
To view this ad, please visit http://www.wrinstitute.org/.
"I was delighted when the Entertainment Industry Foundation invited me
to participate in the PSA with its partners, the American Cancer Society
and Will Rogers Institute," says Levy, EIF ambassador for the campaign.
"Hopefully this health message motivates smokers who struggle to quit to
seek help and become former smokers."
Directed by acclaimed film director Paul Flaherty, Levy uses his
trademark humor to show that while it is not easy to quit smoking on your
own, help is available. "All it takes is a little movie magic to make a
cigarette disappear," says Levy. On screen, the actor tries to make a
cigarette vanish with "slick special effects." He concludes that there is
nothing "magical about quitting smoking," and urges smokers to seek help by
calling the American Cancer Society Quitline(r) toll-free at
1-800-ACS-2345.
Callers to the Quitline(r) are connected to trained counselors who
offer tobacco cessation telephone counseling, self-help materials and
community referrals. With guidance from a counselor, smokers can learn how
to prepare for their quit attempt, develop strategies to help with
cravings, and prevent relapse once they have quit. This service is
clinically proven to double a smoker's chances of quitting and staying
quit.
"The American Cancer Society works to provide the resources for smokers
to quit, and we hope that this public service announcement will encourage
smokers to call our free Quitline for help, anytime day or night," said
John R. Seffrin, PhD, national chief executive officer, American Cancer
Society. "People who quit smoking, regardless of age, live longer than
people who continue to smoke, and quitting lowers the risk for certain
types of cancer and other major diseases, including heart attack and
stroke."
According to the American Cancer Society, smoking is associated with
increased risk of at least 15 different types of cancer. In the United
States alone, tobacco use is responsible for 438,000 premature deaths each
year. Smoking accounts for at least 30 percent of all cancer deaths and 87
percent of lung cancer deaths.
"The Will Rogers Institute is proud to team up with the American Cancer
Society and the Entertainment Industry Foundation to provide this important
and entertaining PSA," said Todd R. Vradenburg, Executive Director of the
Will Rogers Institute. "By playing this PSA in theaters, we will reach a
countless number of smokers and offer them real solutions to quitting."
"With Eugene's comedic genius and Paul's creative touch, this public
service announcement should capture the attention of moviegoers and
hopefully motivate smokers to call the American Cancer Society's national
Quitline for help," said Entertainment Industry Foundation President and
CEO Lisa Paulsen. "We are extremely grateful to the Will Rogers Institute
for helping us bring this life-saving message to the big screen."
About The American Cancer Society
The American Cancer Society is dedicated to eliminating cancer as a
major health problem by saving lives, diminishing suffering and preventing
cancer through research, education, advocacy and service. Founded in 1913
and with national headquarters in Atlanta, the Society has 13 regional
Divisions and local offices in 3,400 communities, involving millions of
volunteers across the United States. For more information anytime, call
toll free 1-800-ACS-2345 or visit http://www.cancer.org.
About the Will Rogers Institute
The Will Rogers Institute is a program of the Will Rogers Motion
Picture Pioneers Foundation, a charity named after one of the greatest
humanitarians, philanthropists and entertainers that ever lived, Will
Rogers. Originally a hospital for tuberculosis-stricken vaudevillians, the
Will Rogers Memorial Hospital became a national training facility for
doctors treating patients with tuberculosis. Building on that foundation,
the Will Rogers Institute is today a national charitable health program
focused on research of debilitating lung disorders, medical school training
fellowships, and distribution of free health education materials to the
general public. The Institute recently became a national leader in
providing life saving neonatal ventilator equipment to hospitals across the
country. For more information, visit http://www.WRInstitute.org.
The Entertainment Industry Foundation
The Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF), as a philanthropic leader
of the entertainment industry, has distributed hundreds of millions of
dollars -- and provided countless volunteer hours -- to support charitable
initiatives addressing critical health, education and social issues.
Through its initiative called Hollywood Unfiltered, EIF is committed to
working from within the industry to reduce tobacco's negative consequences.
Though this effort, the organization educates members of the entertainment
industry about the impact smoking has on young people and the steps they
can take to make a difference. Additionally, EIF has teamed up with Motion
Picture & Television Fund (MPTF), with support from the Motion Picture
Industry Pension & Health Plan, to launch the first ever industry-led
smoking cessation program that combines free counseling with low-cost
medication for people in the entertainment industry who want to quit
smoking. Called Picture Quitting, the success rates of this custom-tailored
quit smoking program is twice those of the national average. Visit
http://www.eifoundation.org and http://www.hollywoodunfiltered.com.
SOURCE Entertainment Industry Foundation
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Related links:
http://www.eifoundation.org
http://www.WRInstitute.org http://www.cancer.org
CONTACT:
Judi Ketcik of Entertainment Industry
Foundation, +1-213-240-3920; or Becky Steinmark Erwin of American
Cancer Society, +1-404-417-5860; or Todd Vradenburg of Will
Rogers Institute, 1-877-957-7575
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