Over the last four decades, we've seen a steady decline in the percentage of Americans who smoke. In 1965, over 42 percent of Americans smoked, but by 2004, that number had fallen to just under 21 percent.
For all of the progress we've made, tobacco use remains the biggest single threat to Americans' health. It kills an estimated 443,000 Americans each year, and for every tobacco-related death two new young people under the age of 26 become regular smokers.
Today, we are releasing the 2012 Surgeon General's report on tobacco use among youth and young adults, which brings more troubling news. This is the first Surgeon General's report since 1994 to examine tobacco use among young adults ages 18 through 25, as well as the causes and consequences of tobacco use among youth and young adults. And it shows us just what we're up against.
Across the country, there are middle school students developing deadly tobacco addictions before they can even drive a car. And the younger they are when they try tobacco, the more likely they are to get addicted and the more heavily addicted they will become. Each day, more than 3,800 kids under 18 smoke their first cigarette. Overall, more than 600, 000 middle school students and more than 3 million high school students smoke cigarettes, while 1.7 million adolescents use smokeless tobacco products or cigars.
One child picking up a tobacco product is one too many, and while these numbers are completely unacceptable, they are no surprise: More than $1 million an hour is spent to market cigarette products in this country.
In light of this, we are changing the way we rid our communities of tobacco. The Obama Administration pushed legislation that makes it harder for tobacco companies to market to kids. That legislation was debated in Congress for many years, and we got it passed. We have also restricted companies from using terms like "light" or "mild" on products and in marketing. And we have banned certain candy- and fruit-flavored cigarettes.
We're also supporting local programs to help people quit smoking and stop people from starting. As part of the new health care law, we gave Americans better access to counseling to help them quit smoking. Around the country, we've seen states join in this fight, with 25 states and Washington, D.C. passing smoke-free laws in their public spaces.
Over the last three years, we've made significant strides in our fight against tobacco, and our efforts are paying off. But today's report is an important reminder to our nation that we have a lot more work to do to make tobacco death and disease part of our past, and no longer part of our future.
For more by Sec. Kathleen Sebelius, click here.
For more on smoking, click here.
Yet it remains on sale at every corner store.
I've heard every argument, and I still don't get it.
--No, actually that distinction is held by the Patient Protection & Affordable Care Act.
"The Obama Administration pushed legislation that makes it harder for tobacco companies to market to kids. We have also restricted companies from using terms like "light" or "mild" on products and in marketing. And we have banned certain candy- and fruit-flavored cigarettes."
--Groundbreaking strategy you got there...
"Around the country, we've seen states join in this fight, with 25 states and Washington, D.C. passing smoke-free laws in their public spaces."
--Yep, keep demonizing people for their personal choices. Send them outside into the cold by the dumpsters to do their filthy deeds. Or, maybe you should arm citizen-nannies with spray bottles and instructions to give any smoker a spritzing.
You wouldn't walk up to a fat person and tell them to stop cramming their face, would you? This is America, and people can make choices. So butt out, lady.
So how does hurt me or you???
"Around the country, we've seen states join in this fight, with 25 states and Washington, D.C. passing smoke-free laws in their public spaces."
So how does this affect you or me ????
Well, Ms Sebelius, if tobacco use is the BIGGEST SINGLE THREAT TO AMERICANS health, the logical question is why is it a LEGAL product?
But it goes to show the complete ineffectiveness of our whole system of deciding what is, and is not a "safe" product to sell legally.
If we allow the single biggest threat to American's health to be legal, it seems to lead to the argument that we might as well let them all be legal.....
I am 75 years old today - have smoked since I was 17 - no heart problems, no respiratory problems - swim during the summer (at least 20 laps per day), bike and walk and hike the hills during the cooler months - still do all my own housework and yard work, including heavy lifting and tree trimming - do volunteer work that involves lifting, bending, getting up and down from the floor - help my younger, non-smoking neighbors with painting and other chores around their homes - dig (by hand) a veggie garden every year and plant, weed and water - and more.
Have friends and family who have died from cancer and they were not around smokers nor did they smoke.
I respect the rights of those who choose not to smoke and do not smoke around them When we go to a restaurant, we go to the non-smoking section. I do not smoke in my vehicle when we go somewhere. I ask that non-smokers give me the same respect and do not preach at me, tell me all the "statistics" or try to get me to
As as 20+ year smoker who has tried to quit many, many times, I beg you, BEG you and the Federal government to stop opposing electronic cigarettes. Please do research on this invaluable tool for helping nicotine addicts. Everything I've seen the government say about electronic cigarettes was a broadside against them relying totally on fear and emotion rather than reason and evidence. No other method I have tried has worked for me for longer than 6 months. Electronic cigs worked right away.
Yes, a user of them is still using nicotine, but nicotine is not what gives a person mouth, esophageal or lung cancer, it's just what keeps you addicted. In the name of harm reduction and simply in the name of common decency, please help your department of government to take a more enlightened stance on this particular smoking cessation method.
This administration talks a lot about preventative medicine, here's a place where they could really make that count and save lives. My life is great, but the fact that I smoked for so long is not, it's been the worst thing about my life for years and years. And now that I have e-cigs, every morning I wake up and my throat doesn't hurt, I don't cough all the time, and my acid reflux is markedly improved. Please, I beg you, help more smokers get e-cigs!
Thank you.
After all the experiment with prohibiton created the nexus of alcohol in speakeasy's with smoking and recently liberated women partaking in both that sexualized the entire setting... Decreasing substance abuse should be mixed with an enviroment for more sexual freedom and association with less focus on substance and more on sexual exploration and play in clubs to defuse the substance aspect of sexual repression and denial of gratification.