Legacy applauds HHS and FDA for new tobacco control strategic action plan

Legacy applauds HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and the leadership at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its bold new effort announced today to dramatically reduce the number of American lives lost annually to tobacco-related disease. Still the number one preventable cause of death, tobacco continues to claim more than 400,000 lives each year in the United States.

Today's announcement included a proposed rule, Required Warnings for Cigarette Packages and Advertisements, requiring more prominent warnings to better communicate the deadly effects of tobacco. As Secretary Sebelius shared with us today, anyone who picks up a pack of cigarettes will soon clearly understand the risk that comes with smoking. Placing prominent color photos and warning statements will hopefully help young smokers make more informed decisions about lighting up, and give current smokers a renewed commitment to quit their addiction for good.  

The proposed graphic warnings would significantly cover the front of cigarette packs, replacing the current warnings on the narrow side of cigarette packs, and would be required as part of the new proposed rule. The proposed warnings include images of tobacco-related cancers and even the corpse of an individual who has passed away from lung cancer.  

Data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show the rate of decline in youth and adult smoking has stalled in recent years – making the issue of smoking in America a continued public health crisis. About eighty percent of current smokers tried their first cigarettes before they graduated high school. We know the tobacco industry has long targeted younger people in order to "replace" the customers who have already died from using its deadly products. The federal government's announcement today and its focus on prevention is a strong show of commitment to the nation's smokers, saying "we are in your corner."

Today's announcement by the Federal Government to move forward with a first national strategic plan to address tobacco use aligns action with partners around the country to dramatically reduce the adult smoking rate to 12 percent by 2020. With its plan, "Ending the Tobacco Epidemic: A Tobacco Control Strategic Action Plan," the Federal Government is taking an unprecedented and bold leadership role guiding the public health community, including organizations like Legacy, to remain laser-focused on our collective mission to prevent young people from lighting up and help smokers quit. HHS' commitment gives public health advocates like Legacy and our partners around the country renewed energy to work together with a clear mission.  

At Legacy, our mission to help Americans lead longer, healthier lives is two-fold: to build a world where young people reject tobacco and anyone can quit. While campaigns like the national youth smoking prevention campaign truth® continue to counter the tobacco industry's marketing tactics, our efforts along with other national and state programs can feel like an uphill battle when research shows the tobacco industry spends more than $34 million a day marketing its deadly products. We have long contended that in order to save young lives and save money, real change needs to come from the top. Health services should be focused on prevention – after all, tobacco is the number-one preventable causes of death in the United States and around the world. These types of bold steps by the leadership of HHS is a true tipping point in furthering the decline of smoking and changing of social norms surrounding tobacco in the United States.