Delaware Governor Jack Markell guest posts about Delaware's efforts to reduce the risk of skin cancer in the state.

With todayŠ—'s release of the Surgeon GeneralŠ—'s Call to Action on Skin Cancer, I wanted impress upon my readers why it is so important that our nation has an action plan for dealing with this devastating cancer by sharing MeganŠ—'s powerful story.

Five years ago this week, we celebrated a landmark public health victory as the president signed the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act into law.

This morning at a White House event, acting Surgeon General Boris Lushniak released the 32nd Surgeon GeneralŠ—'s report: The Health Consequences of Smoking Š—– 50 Years of Progress. The report is an important compilation of the more than 50 years of strong scientific data showing how the tobacco epidemic has caused an enormous avoidable public health tragedy.

8 million. ThatŠ—'s the number of lives saved due in large part to tobacco control efforts since the 1964 Surgeon GeneralŠ—'s Report on Smoking and Health, according to a study released in JAMA this week.

The report includes the latest information about the trends of youth tobacco use and its devastating impact on health. The report also details the tobacco industryŠ—'s continued efforts to addict kids to its deadly products through insidious marketing and promotion directed at youth.