Call for bold action against smoking in US

Seven U.S. public health and medical organizations yesterday called for a new national commitment to end the country’s “tobacco epidemic” for good.

They say they are looking for “bold action by all levels of government” to achieve three goals:

* to reduce smoking rates, currently at about 18 percent, to less than 10 percent within 10 years;

* to protect all U.S. citizens from secondhand smoke within five years;

* and ultimately to eliminate the death and disease caused by tobacco use.

The seven groups issuing the call to action are the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, the American Heart Association, the American Lung Association, Americans for Nonsmokers’ Rights, the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids and Legacy.

Their call has been made ahead of the 50th anniversary of the first U.S. Surgeon General’s Report on Smoking and Health, issued on Jan. 11, 1964.

But while the groups are celebrating “the remarkable progress of the past 50 years,” they say that the battle is far from over.

“Tobacco use is still the number one cause of preventable death in the United States,” the groups said in a press note issued through PR Newswire.

“Smoking kills more than 440,000 Americans each year, sickens millions more and costs the nation $193 billion annually in health-care expenditures and lost productivity.

“About 44 million adults still smoke, and more than 3,000 kids try their first cigarette each day.

“It is unacceptable that tobacco still kills so many Americans, lures so many children, devastates so many families and places such a huge burden on our nation’s health-care system.”