Tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable disease and death in the US.
Cigarette smoking alone kills nearly a half million US residents each year and millions more experience smoking-related illnesses, including cancer and heart disease.1
The 2009 Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act granted the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authority to regulate the manufacturing, distribution, and marketing of tobacco products, with the goal of protecting US residents from the devastating effects of tobacco.
Substantial progress has been made toward this goal as a result of efforts at the national, state, and local levels: current cigarette smoking among US adults declined from 20.6% in 2009 to 11.5% in 2021.2
However, tobacco use remains a potent health threat; approximately 47 million US adults currently use tobacco products.3 Of these individuals, nearly 80% use combustible products such as cigarettes, which are responsible for the overwhelming burden of tobacco-related disease and death.1
Robert M. Califf and Brian A. King – JAMA – 2022-12-29.
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