This week, the Florida Lung, Asthma and Sleep Specialists examine a very recent report on tobacco related death and disease.
On January 21 of this new year, the American Lung Association released its “State of Tobacco Control Report,” and we were inspired to pass along some of the findings to our readers.
With the research, the United States can discover where we are in terms of defeating America’s tobacco-caused death and disease. Did you know that tobacco use is our leading cause of preventable death?
On the one hand, we must congratulate America for actually cutting smoking rates by half in the last 51 years. On the other hand, we must sadly acknowledge that, in the words of the president of the American Lung Association, “tobacco’s ongoing burden on America’s health and economy is catastrophic.”
The tobacco habit contributes to a host of killer diseases, and we at FLASS see the sad results reflected in the lives and x-rays of our patients.
The tobacco related diseases are never minor. Every day we see tobacco-related cases of lung cancer, heart attacks, stroke, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
More Brutal Facts
Tobacco use kills almost half a million Americans a year.
Tobacco use costs $289 billion in healthcare and lost American productivity each year.
The Report Card, State-By-State
The report cited the failure of many states as well as the national government, in curbing the death and disease from tobacco use. The American Lung Association report also laid out a strategy for defeating what has been termed a tobacco epidemic.
The association stated, “It’s no secret how to reduce tobacco use in the United States. Our state and federal leaders need to muster the political will to implement proven policies. Our nation cannot afford the health or financial consequences of their continued failure to act.”
How to End the Epidemic
In order to end tobacco related death and disease, the “American Lung Association and its partners are calling for immediate action on tobacco use by all levels of government to achieve three bold goals:”
I. Reduction: Through education, legislation and advocation, they intend to “reduce smoking rates to less than 10 percent by 2024.” Today’s rate is, sadly, 18 percent.
II. Protection: Likewise, the Association vows to find ways and means to protect all Americans from secondhand smoke by 2019. Did you know 50,000 people die from exposure to secondhand smoke, yearly?
III. Elimination: They are seriously committed to eliminating the death and disease caused by tobacco use.
The report illustrates that 2014 was a tragically disappointing year with very little legislation at the state and federal levels.”
1. No state passed comprehensive smoke free laws.
2. No state significantly raised taxes on tobacco.
3. The federal government neither significantly increased tobacco taxes nor gave the Food and Drug Administration oversight of all tobacco products.
You can find out each state’s grade on the report, and more about the American Lung Association’s goals for the future at this reliable online source.
The Florida Lung, Asthma and Sleep Specialists invite you to contemplate the statistics and the future of all our great grand children.
As always, the doctors and staff at FLASS thank you for taking the time to read our blog. Please visit us often for the latest information on respiratory health, research and news.
