Voicebox Anti-Smoking Ad Star Dies

This is so sad, even if it wasn’t exactly unexpected.
You see, Debi Austin gained fame by starring in and anti-smoking ad, where she continued to smoke cigarettes… through the hole in her throat. She died of cancer on Friday.
She had begun smoking at age 13 and had never been able to quit, regardless of having to smoke through the hole, called a stoma. The hole was there to let her breathe after she had her larynx removed when she was 42.
Awesomely, because of the ad, she was able to quit smoking four months afterwards, though it was too late — she had various forms of cancer, and remained an anti-smoking advocate.
So sad! We wish things could’ve been different for Debi once she quit!
[Image via AP Images.]