We present the results of a survey conducted to evaluate the impact of a newspaper mediated smoking cessation program conducted in Buffalo, New York in January 1987. Over half of all smokers surveyed reported exposure to the newspaper series; 13 per cent reported that the series prompted them to try to quit smoking, and 4 per cent stopped smoking for at least one week. We estimate that over 9,600 smokers in Erie County, New York stopped smoking for at least one week as a result of the newspaper's smoking cessation program.