American Lung Association Report Shows 2007 Shaping Up to be a Banner Year for Tobacco Control Policies.

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.