A new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released in January 2014 marks 50 years since initial publication of the landmark report of the Surgeon General’s Advisory Committee on smoking and health. This report highlights the progress throughout the U.S. in reducing tobacco use, as well as the ongoing cases of disease and death caused by smoking.
According to the report, the epidemic of smoking caused disease in the twentieth century ranks among the greatest public health catastrophes of the century, while the decline of smoking consequent to tobacco control is considered one of public health’s greatest successes.
More than 20 million Americans have died as a result of smoking since the first Surgeon General’s report on smoking and health was released in 1964. Most were adults with a history of smoking, but nearly 2.5 million were nonsmokers who died from heart disease or lung cancer caused by exposure to secondhand smoke.
