Ending the Tobacco Epidemic: Past Lessons and Next Steps

In this one-hour webinar, which is part of the Hot Topics series, Drs. Patrick O’Carroll and Tim McAfee review past and future strategies for preventing tobacco-related diseases.

Learning Objectives

• List three major conclusions from the Surgeon General’s 50th anniversary report on smoking and health.
• Describe two “end game” strategies being considered to end the tobacco epidemic.
• Describe two potential benefits and disadvantages of increases in e-cigarette use.

Intended Audience

Local, state, and tribal public health professionals; public health researchers and instructors; community tobacco control advocates

Presenters

Patrick O’Carroll, MD, MPH, Rear Admiral and Assistant Surgeon General, US Public Health Service

Tim McAfee, MD, MPH, Senior Medical Officer, Office on Smoking and Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Discussion Questions

These questions are designed to further your thinking on the topic covered in this webinar. You may print and discuss them with colleagues and other members of your organization before or after watching this webinar.

1. With so much progress being made in the last three decades in reducing smoking, why do we need new strategies? Why not just continue with proven, evidence-based strategies to prevent smoking initiation and help current tobacco users to quit?
2. Given that the major negative effects of smoking have been well-characterized over the past 50 years, why are almost 20% of adults still smoking? Why isn’t the government doing more?
3. What are the pros and cons of possible policy changes such as raising the age of legal purchase of tobacco products from 18 to 21, restricting the sale and promotion of e-cigarettes, and decreasing nicotine levels in cigarettes to non-addictive levels?

Resources

• Surgeon General's Reports on Smoking and Tobacco Use
• The Way Things Were (video)