Tobacco control: Vigilance remains imperative

This is the 40th anniversary of the first surgeon general's report on the dangers of tobacco. But millions of Americans still smoke, and the battle continues on many fronts.

Editorial. Feb. 23, 2004.

It was easy to miss recent action on tobacco. News of a late January federal court ruling about a federal tobacco lawsuit was virtually drowned out by other headlines -- presidential primaries, Super Bowl hoopla and arctic temperatures. But this decision -- a step back for the tobacco industry -- is part of a broader, ongoing effort that is too important to let slide off the radar screen.

This year, in fact, marks the 40th anniversary of the 1964 landmark report of Surgeon General Luther Terry, MD, linking smoking with lung cancer and a spate of other illnesses.

The report's impact over these four decades certainly made inroads against the hold tobacco use has on the nation. Even so, its ongoing costs in terms of health and lives lost should serve as a constant reminder that there is no room for complacency.

Consider the statistics: Forty-seven million Americans still smoke, and more than 440,000 of them die from tobacco-related illnesses each year. An estimated 4.5 million kids younger than 18 are current smokers. Almost four out of 10 smoking-related deaths occur among women -- a figure that has more than doubled since 1965. And smoking in the United States generates approximately $75 billion in direct medical costs annually.