Voice Box and Confidence to Quit Campaign Hub

Welcome to the Voice Box and Confidence to Quit campaign hub. Here you'll find campaign information and resources. Download and share any of this content across your networks and channels.

On Sunday 27 June 2021, Quit launched a new campaign across Victoria – Voice Box supported by Confidence to Quit.

Voice Box raises awareness of the link between smoking and cancers of the voice box and aims to motivate people to stop smoking now.

Confidence to Quit aims to build smokers' belief in their ability to stop smoking.

The campaign will end on 7 August 2021.

Campaign Summary

Smoking can lead to removal of the voice box due to cancer. This can drastically impact a person's life. The best way to reduce the risk is to stop smoking. 

People who smoke don't have to rely on willpower alone to stop smoking. Research shows the best way to stop smoking is with a combination of counselling from a service like Quitline (13 7848) and stop smoking medication, if clinically appropriate. Quit is here to help. Contact Quitline on 13 7848 or visit quit.org.au for tools and tips.

Voice Box

Anaesthetist Dr Hamish Mace discusses how a person's life can be affected if they need to have their voice box removed due to cancer. Visit the Voice Box webpage here.

For the full-length version of the Voice Box television advertisement, visit Quit's YouTube channel (WARNING: contains graphic medical content).

Confidence to Quit

Karen and Johnna discuss why they stopped smoking and what strategies and tools they used to help them along their quitting journeys. Visit the Confidence to Quit webpage here.

Karen

Johnna

Adapted with permission from Make Smoking History. Make Smoking History is supported by the Department of Health WA, Healthway and Cancer Council Western Australia.

Key messages

1. If you smoke, you're much more likely to get cancer of the voice box (laryngeal cancer):

• People who smoke are 9x more likely to get laryngeal cancer. 

• Almost 80% of laryngeal cancers (cancers of the voice box) are caused by smoking.

2. Having your voice box removed drastically impacts your life:

• After surgery, air will pass through a hole in your neck (called a stoma). This can affect your sense of smell and taste. 

• You need to avoid getting water into the stoma, as it leads directly into your windpipe and down to your lungs. This means you can't go swimming, and showering becomes difficult.

• Your speech will also be affected - without vocal cords you can’t raise your voice, so cheering or singing loudly is no longer possible.

3. People who smoke don't have to rely on willpower alone to stop smoking. Research shows the best way to quit is with a combination of counselling from a service like Quitline (13 7848) and stop smoking medication if clinically appropriate.

Social media assets

Click to download and share across your channels. Each link downloads a jpeg file with Twitter-friendly sizing:

Voice Box - Dr Hamish Mace

Voice Box - Surgery

Confidence to Quit - Karen

Confidence to Quit - Johnna

Resources for Health Professionals

Most people who smoke want to stop, and there is strong evidence that advice from a health professional is a major external trigger in prompting a quit attempt. Health professionals can support patients/clients to stop smoking by having a brief advice conversation. Quit has a range of online training and resources to give health professionals the skills and tools required. Visit quit.org.au/onlinetraining for more.

You can also download (PDF) the new Smoking and head and neck cancers: fact sheet for health professionals for the latest research on head and neck cancers and information on how to support patients to stop smoking, as well as an overview of Quit services.

Campaign Feedback

If you have any feedback or concerns relating to the Voice Box or Confidence to Quit television advertisements, please email quit@quit.org.au or call 03 9514 6834 and leave your name and contact number. Quit will reply as soon as possible.