‘Cancer Moonshot’ Takes Aim at Smoking

U.S. President Joe Biden in his State of the Union address stated that cutting smoking rates in order to prevent cancer deaths is a main goal of his “Cancer Moonshot” program.

According to Biden, the administration’s goal is to cut cancer deaths by half in the next 25 years. In order to do so, one of the aims is to “help people avoid smoking in the first place and support Americans who want to quit.” He noted that “While we have made progress, tobacco products still hook too many young people at an early age and take control away from individual Americans to make the decision not to smoke. The administration is working to put that control back in the hands of Americans.”

“We’re going to continue to focus on prevention,” said Danielle Carnival, the White House “Cancer Moonshot” coordinator. “We’re committed to continuing to use authorities and programs to keep making progress.”

Prior to the State of the Union, some conservative commentators had complained about a “war on cigarettes.” After the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced its plan to ban menthol cigarettes, Fox News host Tucker Carlson claimed that nicotine “frees your mind,” according to Business Insider. Biden first launched the “Cancer Moonshot” program in 2015 while he served as vice president. He renewed the program last year.