Cigarette smoking has been identified as the number one preventable
cause of morbidity and premature mortality worldwide. Smoking
is responsible for approximately one in five deaths in the
United States. From 1997 to 2001, smoking killed an estimated
438,000 people in the United States each year. This includes
an estimated 259,494 male and 178,404 female deaths annually.
Among adults, the three leading specific causes of smoking
attributable deaths were from lung cancer (123,836), chronic
obstructive pulmonary disease (90,582) and ischemic heart
disease (86,801).
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Annual
Smoking-Attributable Mortality, Years of Potential Life
Lost, and Productivity Losses * U.S., 1997-2001. Morbidity
and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) 2005; 54(25); 625-628.
These statistics alone ought to be reason enough to warrant
strong tobacco control laws such as cigarette tax increases
and increased funding for tobacco prevention programs, but
every year new studies show that the harmful effects of
smoking not only effect the smoker, but also the workers
and general public exposed to secondhand smoke.
This website is home to the online version of State Legislated
Actions on Tobacco Issues (SLATI), which tracks state tobacco
control laws, such as state restrictions on smoking in public
places and workplaces and state tobacco taxes, on an ongoing
basis. It is the only resource of its kind in tobacco control
today providing up-to-date information on tobacco control
laws in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. You
can learn more
about SLATI here.
Below is a list of just some of the reports and information
on tobacco control laws and policy found on this site. Please
explore the various areas and learn how to get involved
in the important fight for strong tobacco control laws and
policies. As many of the inspirational people who are living
with lung disease will tell you, it’s a fight we cannot
afford to lose.
Looking
for specific information?
This website is supported in part by a grant from the
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in Princeton, New Jersey.
Last updated: 3/19/08 |
