Tobacco use is a major preventable cause of premature death and disease worldwide. In the United States, an estimated 46.6 million people currently smoke, and an estimated 443,000 people die prematurely from diseases caused by smoking or second-hand smoke exposure. This results in $96 billion in direct healthcare cost and $97 billion of lost productivity from premature death per year.

 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the lead federal agency for comprehensive tobacco control and have identified Tobacco use as a Winnable Battle. The CDC is responsible for conducting and coordinating research, surveillance, laboratory, and evaluation activities related to tobacco and its effect on health. The CDC also translates research into practice by keeping the public, policy makers, health professionals, and partners informed about current developments and initiatives in tobacco control. They continue to support comprehensive programs to prevent and control tobacco use in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, 8 U.S. territories/jurisdictions, and 8 tribal support centers. The CDC’s approach to reducing tobacco use focuses on preventing young people from starting to smoke, eliminating exposure to secondhand smoke, promoting quitting among young people and adults, identifying and eliminating tobacco-related health disparities among different population groups.

 

Public Health Foundation (PHF) offers resources that public health and other professionals can use in the effort to reduce tobacco use. Take courses on TRAIN such as Smoking Cessation in Pregnant Women, Clearing the Air: Smoke-Free Policies, or Treating Tobacco Dependence among Young Adults to find out more about Tobacco use. For more resources on Tobacco visit PHF's Learning Resource Center  to find high quality training materials and use the Public Health Improvement Resource Center for online tools.

 

Please visit the CDC’s Winnable Battles Tobacco website for more information.

  

For evidence-based findings and recommendations from the Task Force on Community Preventive Services pertaining to Tobacco use please visit the Community Guide’s Tobacco website.