Smoking has many effects on your body. Maybe you’re already noticing warning signs like wet smoker's cough, wheezing, and breathlessness, that could lead to serious harm. The good news is, as soon as you quit your body start to repair itself.  Listen out for any symptoms you experience and book a GP appointment if you’re feeling worried.

Do your loved ones always ask when you're going to quit smoking? They are worried about what will happen if you become ill. Will you still be able to do your favourite activities together? We know it's hard, but quitting smoking can change not just your life, but also the lives of those who love you.There are so many different ways to quit smoking, and it often takes a few attempts. To help, we've put all the best tips in one place. Start your quitting journey today!

In 2019, Make Smoking History filmed the surgical removal of a smoker’s voice box (larynx) as a result of cancer. Almost 80% of laryngeal cancers are caused by smoking and treatment is physically and emotionally devastating. “Stop smoking before you end up on this table” is the message from doctors Rob Wormald and Hamish Mace, people who spend much of their professional lives trying to save the lives of patients with smoking-related cancer.

You Quit, You Win', created by the Cancer Institute NSW in partnership with Quit Victoria, highlights the negative social and physical effects of smoking. According to smokers, some of the things they hate the most about their habit are having bad breath, feeling isolated, hiding from loved ones, the cost, standing in the cold, feeling judged and running out of breath.

In 2001, at the age of 40, Terrie was diagnosed with oral cancer.

“All I heard was, 'Cancer.' I didn't hear the part they were going to take something away from me…They had cut me from one ear to the other…They had taken my voice box, and then they stapled me back together and left a hole in the middle of my throat. Well, when I opened my mouth …nothing came out of my mouth. Not a breath, not a syllable, not a sound. Nothing. And you know what the next thing I remember is? I had two big tears, and they came down the side of my face. And that's when it hit me, they had taken my voice box, and I could not talk…”

Terrie continued to battle on with a strong, positive spirit, and she made a very powerful series of advertisements for the CDC encouraging others to stop smoking. Terrie died September 16, 2013, from smoking-related cancer. She was 53.

Through her advertisements, Terrie continues to inspire people around the world to quit smoking.

Some of the WA locals involved in the 'From Every Quitter' campaign spoke to us about how their children are their motivation to quit. Watch Tarryn, Levi, Graham and Johnna share their personal stories about quitting.

When we asked WA smokers for the main reason their quit attempts had failed, the most common answer was having friends and family smoking around them. In this advertisement, Make Smoking History filmed people asking their loved ones not to smoke around them so that they can finally quit for good. View the campaign videos on the Make Smoking History YouTube page.

Imagine having your life tragically cut short, all because of smoking. Imagine having to tell the one you love you won’t be able to share the rest of your life with them. Think about having to tell your children you won’t be there to support them in their times of need. These are the hard-hitting messages in Quit Victoria’s 'Last Dance' campaign.

'16 Cancers' is a WA-made campaign that emphasises the immediate and long-term consequences these cancers can have on a person’s life. The advertising depicts the shocking effects of smoking-related cancers and how they can take away life’s simple pleasures, such as speaking and eating.

Seven years after Zita passed away, her children contacted Make Smoking History about getting her advertisements back on air to inspire others to quit smoking. Zita’s children added their own heartbreaking perspectives to the campaign, talking to camera about growing up without their Mum, and the key life events she is missing.

‘Sponge’ is a remake of a 1979 television advertisement which was so successful in its day that tobacco lobbyists attempted to have it banned. In the updated ad by Cancer Institute NSW, a sponge is used to demonstrate the amount of cancer-producing tar which goes into the lungs of a pack-a-day a smoker over the course of one year. A pair of hands wring out a tar-blackened sponge and the tar can be seen overflowing into a beaker.

Breathlessness from emphysema can be terrifying, as Mick Roberts knows all too well. Mick generously shared his story with Quit Victoria in the hope he could prevent others from going through the same disease. At the time of filming, Mick was 49 years old. He had been a long-term smoker until he was diagnosed with emphysema and quit immediately. Years later, Mick still deals with the horrible health effects of his smoking habit every day.

'Never Give Up' was created by Quit Victoria and follows a man’s multiple attempts to quit smoking. The advertisement reminds smokers that it is normal to make many quit attempts before quitting for good and to never give up giving up.

'How You're Seen' was created in WA and highlights the isolation smokers feel when hiding their habit from their loved ones, and the social and emotional impact smoking can have on smokers and those around them.

'Best Intentions' was developed by the Cancer Institute NSW. The advertisement focuses on the regret smokers feel for not having quit earlier, and how a smoking-related disease such as cancer can impact the lives of both the smoker and their family.

'Adrian’s Regret' was developed by the Ministry of Health New Zealand and The Quit Group New Zealand. At 52, Adrian was diagnosed with terminal mouth cancer after smoking for over 30 years. In the advertisements, Adrian talks openly and honestly about how much his life changed since being diagnosed and how much he regrets smoking. Sadly, Adrian passed away in 2009, at just 53 years of age. Before his death, Adrian expressed his wish that his story be used to encourage more smokers to quit.

The Make Smoking History Campaign marked its ten-year anniversary by airing some of its most successful and hard-hitting advertisements which continue to drive home the many good reasons to quit smoking.

The Sugar, Sugar campaign was made in WA and draws attention to the ingredients in cigarettes which are commonly used to make them taste better, or smoother on the throat. The advertisement is set to The Archies song of the same name.

Perth brothers, Luke and Ben, share the story of their father who passed away in 2007 from lung cancer. Neil was just 52 years old when he died and missed meeting his first grandchild by just one month. He was a pack-a-day smoker from his late teens until his late 30s when he quit, only taking up the habit again eight years later due to work pressures.

This campaign was originally developed by Cancer Institute NSW and features a montage of Australian anti-tobacco campaigns from the past decade.

This WA-made campaign focuses on protecting children from secondhand smoke in the home and car. The advertisements encourage people to make their home and car smoke-free to protect the health of their loved ones.

'Echo' was developed by Cancer Institute NSW and addresses common excuses people use to justify their habit, before showing the serious health consequences they may face by continuing to smoke. The tagline “Quitting is hard. Not quitting is harder”, urges smokers to quit now before they develop a lifelong disease.

Zita Roberts, a mother of three from Perth, was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer caused by her smoking when she was just 37 years old. Zita bravely shared her story to encourage others to quit and save them from a similar fate. Sadly, Zita passed away in 2007.

Originally developed by Quit Victoria, this advertisement uses bubble wrap to demonstrate how smoking causes permanent damage to the tiny air sacs in the lungs, which can cause emphysema and chronic bronchitis.

This WA-made campaign highlights that, instead of enjoying their golden years, smokers risk a future of disability and poor health if they don’t kick the habit.

In this campaign, Jenny, a WA mother of three, bravely tells her story of having lung cancer from smoking at the age of 42. Sadly, Jenny died in December 2004.

'You Should Have Been There' was developed by Quit Victoria and Quit South Australia. The campaign urges parents to quit now so they don’t miss out on important milestones in their children’s lives.

This campaign from Quit Victoria features satirist John Clarke impersonating an executive of a fake tobacco company. John Clarke’s character announces a complete cigarette recall “until we can guarantee the Australian public that our product poses absolutely no threat to your health”. The advertising focuses on the behaviour of the tobacco industry.

'Didn’t Listen' is another WA-made campaign and features renowned Perth cardiothoracic surgeon, Dr Mark Newman. It was filmed in a real operating theatre where Dr Newman removed a lung cancer tumour during a real operation.

Created in WA, 'Nice People' was Make Smoking History’s first major television campaign. It features real doctors, health professionals and counsellors who work at the frontline treating diseases caused by smoking.