Oregon City Supports Statewide Ban on Flavored Tobacco Products
OREGON CITY, OR — Oregon City has taken a stand against flavored tobacco products by passing a resolution on Wednesday that calls for an end to their sale.
News
Surgeon General Report Highlights Youth Smoking Problem in U.S.
March 8, 2012
A new report released by the U.S. Surgeon General has provided further evidence of the need for stronger tobacco control efforts in the country.
Amidst state legislature's cuts in funding for tobacco control programs and their refusal to pass laws to help stem this epidemic of youth smoking, many of the gains that were made during the past decade are being lost.
According to the report:
After years of steady progress, declines in the use of tobacco by youth and young adults have slowed for cigarette smoking and stalled for smokeless tobacco use
Big Tobacco's advertising and marketing programs continue to drive children to start smoking
Nearly all smokers try their first cigarette before they turn age 18
This report highlights the urgent need to employ proven methods nationwide that prevent young people from smoking and encourage all smokers to quit, including passage of smoke-free laws, increases in tobacco excise taxes and fully funded tobacco prevention programs, said John R. Seffrin, chief executive officer of the American Cancer Society and the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN).
Tobacco kills more than 443,000 Americans each year, causes nearly 90 percent of lung cancer deaths, and is responsible for nearly one-third of all cancers. Tobacco-related illnesses are expensive and impact is not isolated to smokers alone.
In the United States each year, tobacco use costs an estimated $193 billion in direct and indirect healthcare costs. Meanwhile, the tobacco industry spends more than $10 billion a year $29 million each day to addict new, young smokers and keep current smokers hooked.
