What progress are we making?

The short answer is that we have made disappointingly little progress in reducing the number of cigarette smokers in the US. Worldwide, we are losing ground rapidly, with the total number of smokers increasing at an alarming rate, especially in third world nations. Why we have done so little, is a more difficult question. The early response from organized medicine in the United States was sluggish to say the least. Even after the U.S. Surgeon General reported in 1964 that cigarettes caused cancer, the American Medical Association would not back the report, and indeed kept accepting financial contributions from cigarette companies for many years after. One of the reasons that this denial probably occured was that as high as 50% of MDs (myself included) were smokers during that era.

The second important factor is that the tobacco companies have pursued a cynical obstruction of any form of meaningful anti-tobacco policy, and have continued a predatory policy of trying to hook ever increasing numbers of young smokers to replace the 430,000 smokers who die of tobacco related diseases each year. Because the tobacco companies have untold wealth, they are able to spend $6 billion in advertising yearly and also spend lavishly to pay lawyers and politicians to maintain the status quo.

More information on epidemiology

Information on Prevention Lung cancer - Prevention.