Tobacco Control and the Reduction in Smoking-Related Premature Deaths in the United States, 1964-2012

Abstract

January 2014 marks the 50th anniversary of the first surgeon general’s report on smoking and health.¹ The report inaugurated efforts to reduce cigarette smoking and its effects on health. Those efforts by governments, voluntary organizations, and the private sector—education on smoking’s dangers, increases in cigarette taxes, smoke-free air laws, media campaigns, marketing and sales restrictions, lawsuits, and cessation treatment programs—have comprised the nation’s tobacco control efforts. Recently, Warner et al² documented an important reduction in cigarette consumption associated with tobacco control. This report estimates how many individuals in the United States have gained additional years of life from 1964 through 2012 as a result of tobacco control–influenced decisions to quit smoking or to never start.