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Vital Signs

Vital Signs

To make CDC health information more accessible to the public, more interesting to the media, and more relevant to policymakers, CDC has created Vital Signs—a monthly publication that uses concise and compelling data to communicate vital health information on select topics. The CDC Vital Signs topic for September (2011) is tobacco use, with a focus on adult smoking rates and changes in smoking patterns among adult smokers in the United States.

The Vital Signs program has several parts, including a Vital Signs MMWR, a fact sheet and a Web site that mirrors the fact sheet, a media release, and announcements via social media tools.

Adult Smoking

The September 2011 Vital Signs materials work together to communicate that—

  • Tobacco use remains the leading cause of preventable death in the United States.
  • In 2010, nearly one in five U.S. adults (45.3 million) were current smokers.
  • Large disparities in smoking prevalence continue to exist.
  • Although some people who smoke every day are consuming fewer cigarettes per day, even occasional smoking causes harm, and the best option for any smoker is to quit completely.
  • Reducing tobacco use is a winnable battle with known, effective strategies for success.

Take Action!

The Vital Signs materials reveal that more efforts are needed to reduce smoking and secondhand smoke exposure in the United States and include direct calls to action for—

  • Tobacco users to make their homes and vehicles smoke-free and to quit at any age. Those who want help quitting are urged to ask a health care provider for help quitting, to call 1-800-QUIT-NOW for assistance, or to visit smokefree.gov Exit Notification or SmokefreeWomen Exit Notification to find a step-by-step quit guide.
  • State and community leaders to fund comprehensive tobacco control programs at CDC-recommended levels; to enact 100% smoke-free indoor air policies; to increase the price of all tobacco products; to implement hard-hitting media campaigns that raise public awareness of the dangers of tobacco use and secondhand smoke; and to use the World Health Organization's MPOWER strategies to prevent and reduce tobacco use and to make tobacco less accessible, affordable, attractive, and accepted.
  • Parents and nonsmokers to make their homes and vehicles 100% smoke-free, to quit or to never start using tobacco to teach children about the health risks of smoking and exposure to secondhand smoke, and to encourage friends, family, and co-workers to quit.
  • Health care providers to ask their patients if they use tobacco; if they do, help them quit; to refer patients interested in quitting to 1-800-QUIT-NOW, smokefree.gov Exit Notification, or SmokefreeWomen Exit Notification; to advise all patients and parents to make their homes and vehicles 100% smoke-free; and to advise everyone to avoid secondhand smoke exposure.
  • Employers to establish 100% smoke-free policies and to provide employees and their dependents with health insurance that covers support for quitting with little or no copayment.
  • Retailers to learn and follow the new Food and Drug Administration restrictions on youth access to tobacco products and tobacco marketing to youth, to closely check IDs, and to never sell tobacco to anyone younger than 18 years of age (or 19 in states with a higher minimum age requirement).


Quit Support

For support in quitting:

For More Information

 


 
A tobacco-free life starts now. Learn more
Tips From Former Smokers: Smoking Causes Immediate Damage to Your Body. Learn More.
CDC 24/7 – Saving Lives, Protecting People, Saving Money. Learn More About How CDC Works For You…
Contact Us:
  • CDC/Office on Smoking and Health
    4770 Buford Highway
    MS K-50
    Atlanta, Georgia 30341-3717
  • 800-CDC-INFO
    (800-232-4636)
    TTY: (888) 232-6348
    8am–8pm ET
    Monday–Friday
    Closed Holidays
  • tobaccoinfo@cdc.gov
USA.gov: The U.S. Government's Official Web PortalDepartment of Health and Human Services
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention   1600 Clifton Rd. Atlanta, GA 30333, USA
800-CDC-INFO (800-232-4636) TTY: (888) 232-6348 - cdcinfo@cdc.gov
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