National Working Group for ACTTION

May 26, 2010

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Grand Rounds

In April, CDC released the first report in a new series of occasional Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Reports entitled CDC Grand Rounds. These reports are based on grand rounds presentations at CDC on high-profile issues in public health science, practice, and policy.  This first report was called CDC Grand Rounds: Current Opportunities in Tobacco Control.

The report begins by noting that tobacco use is the world’s leading single preventable cause of death.  It proceeds to provide brief overviews of reports, recommendations and activities underway to combat the problem, such as the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, which commits countries to protect the public’s health by adopting various measures to reduce demand for tobacco, and the 2007 Institute of Medicine blueprint for action to “reduce smoking so substantially that it is no longer a public health problem for our nation,” including strengthening and fully implementing traditional evidence-based tobacco control measures.

The Grand Rounds report highlighted success that New York City achieved starting in 2002 with  implementation  of a multipronged and comprehensive effort to reduce tobacco use that included 1) increasing tobacco taxes, 2) establishing a strong smoke-free policy, 3) implementing aggressive media campaigns, 4) providing free cessation services to smokers, and 5) rigorously evaluating the results. As a result of this effort, which combined multiple interventions, youth smoking rates were reduced by about 50% and adult smoking rates decreased from 21.6% in 2002 to 15.8% in 2008. The decline in adult smoking prevalence since 2002 is greater than that in the United States overall and represents 350,000 fewer smokers in New York City.

Department of Health and Human Services Secretary’s Priorities

Secretary Sebelius has identified nine strategic initiative priorities, including “Prevent and Reduce Tobacco Use.”  Of particular interest to ACTTION partners is the attention given to quit line services and comprehensive cessation treatment in the actions identified to accelerate efforts to prevent and reduce tobacco use.  The highlighted actions are:

• Strengthen the Implementation of Evidence-based Tobacco Control Interventions and Policies in States and Communities
HHS will work to accelerate adoption of comprehensive smoke-free laws in every state and will continue to support efforts to build state and local capacity to implement proven policy interventions. HHS will support comprehensive quit line services; focus greater attention on populations with a disproportionate burden of use and dependence; and increase local, state, and Tribal enforcement of tobacco regulation.
• Change Social Norms Around Tobacco Use
HHS will develop a comprehensive communication agenda to promote a culture change around tobacco use
• Accelerate Research to Expand the Science Base and Monitor Progress
HHS will address gaps in knowledge about what works in tobacco prevention and control, including in regulatory science, evolving product changes, industry practices, and public perception.
• Leverage HHS Systems and Resources to Create a Society Free of Tobacco-related Disease and Death
HHS will provide comprehensive cessation treatment across all its facilities and require HHS-funded programs to have or provide a plan for implementing tobacco-free campus policies. HHS will ensure that HHS health care providers offer cessation advice and referrals; enhance health care professionals’ knowledge and adoption of effective treatments; and provide more powerful incentives to health care providers and others to promote cessation treatment.