These key conclusions of this report provide evidence
that calls for dramatic action:
The current rate of progress in tobacco control is
not fast enough. More needs to be done.
• High levels of smoking-attributable disease and
death costs will persist for decades into this
twenty-first century unless more rapid progress
is made in tobacco control. The current burden
is unacceptable.
• The almost 500,000 annual premature deaths due to
smoking and exposure to tobacco smoke are far too
many. Even 100,000 or 200,000 annual attribut¬able
deaths are far too many; yet this is a realistic projection
of the burden well into the middle of this
twenty-first century if more rapid progress is not
made in tobacco control.
• The burden of death and disease from tobacco use in
the United States is overwhelmingly caused by cigarettes
and other combusted tobacco products; rapid
elimination of their use will dramatically reduce this
burden.
• There are important lessons to be learned from other
successes in public health. In confronting worldwide
epidemics caused by smallpox and polio, the
eradication of the diseases was the clear objective.
From this single-minded focus, the best strategies
and actions based on public health science and practice
were applied, evaluated, refined, and sustained
for decades. The results are now evident: smallpox
was eradicated decades ago and polio is on the verge
of elimination. The nation should firmly commit to
this goal of creating a society free of tobacco-related
death and disease by engaging all sectors of society
to an equally single-minded focus.