The American Cancer Society and The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Launch 'Center for Tobacco Cessation Policy'
03/18/02
WASHINGTON, March 18 /U.S. Newswire/ -- The American Cancer Society and The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation announced today the launch of the "Center for Tobacco Cessation" (CTC). The new center will serve as a one-of-a-kind clearinghouse on ways to help p
"We have more ways to help smokers quit than ever before," said
John R. Seffrin, CEO of the American Cancer Society. "Quitting is
never easy, but with effective treatment, it is possible. We know
what works- research has demonstrated that drug treatment and
counseling are effective and greatly increase the success of
quitting. We also know that helping smokers to quit now will mean
far fewer new cases of cancer and deaths from cancer by the year
2015."
There are over 45 million adult and six million youth tobacco
users in this country. Smoking is the leading preventable cause of
death in the United States, causing more than 430,000 deaths each
year and is estimated to cost more than $50 billion each year in
health care costs and another $50 billion each year in lost
productivity. The mission of the CTC is to serve as a source of
the best available science on cessation and to work with national
partners to expand the use of effective tobacco dependence
treatment and activities. The CTC will be a vital resource to
health care providers, employers, health professionals and policy
makers by providing them with concise information about the
components of effective tobacco dependence treatment and new
developments. The CTC will assist health and health care partner
organizations to promote greater access to effective treatment and
availability of insurance coverage for treatment.
"Seventy percent of smokers say they would like to quit; we
believe this new center will help them succeed," said Steven A.
Schroeder, president and CEO of The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
"We are pleased to partner with the American Cancer Society on this
important initiative."
The CTC is headed by Linda A. Bailey, J.D., M.H.S. Prior to this
position, Bailey was associate director of the Office on Smoking
and Health at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"The CTC will actively engage and convene policy, science, and
health care decision-makers and experts to address what we know
about tobacco cessation and how we can do better in helping tobacco
users quit," said Linda A. Bailey, the CTC's director.
About 10 million people in the United States have died from
causes attributed to smoking, such as heart disease, emphysema, and
other respiratory diseases, in the past 40 years. Men who smoke
increase their risk of death from lung cancer by more than 22 times
and from bronchitis and emphysema by nearly 10 times. Women who
smoke increase their risk of dying from lung cancer by nearly 12
times and the risk of dying from bronchitis and emphysema by more
than 10 times. Smoking triples the risk of dying from heart disease
among middle-aged men and women.
The work of the CTC is supported by a two-year, $750,000 grant
from The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to the American Cancer
Society and an equal amount of support contributed by the Society.
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, based in Princeton, N.J., is
the nation's largest philanthropy devoted exclusively to health and
health care. It concentrates its grant-making in four goal areas:
to assure that all Americans have access to basic health care at
reasonable cost; to improve care and support for people with
chronic health conditions; to promote healthy communities and
lifestyles; and to reduce the personal, social and economic harm
caused by substance abuse-tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drugs.
The American Cancer Society is the nationwide community-based
voluntary health organization dedicated to eliminating cancer as a
major health problem by preventing cancer, saving lives and
diminishing suffering from cancer, through research, education,
advocacy and service.
For information about cancer, call toll-free anytime
1-800-ACS-2345 or visit the American Cancer Society website at
www.cancer.org.