Smoking Cessation: A Report of the Surgeon General [Internet]
- PMID: 32255575
- Bookshelf ID: NBK555591
Smoking Cessation: A Report of the Surgeon General [Internet]
Excerpt
Tobacco smoking is the leading cause of preventable disease, disability, and death in the United States (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services [USDHHS] 2014). Smoking harms nearly every organ in the body and costs the United States billions of dollars in direct medical costs each year (USDHHS 2014). Although considerable progress has been made in reducing cigarette smoking since the first U.S. Surgeon General’s report was released in 1964 (USDHHS 2014), in 2018, 13.7% of U.S. adults (34.2 million people) were still current cigarette smokers (Creamer et al. 2019). One of the main reasons smokers keep smoking is nicotine (USDHHS 1988). Nicotine, a drug found naturally in the tobacco plant, is highly addictive, as with such drugs as cocaine and heroin; activates the brain’s reward circuits; and reinforces repeated nicotine exposure (USDHHS 1988, 2010, 2014; National Institute on Drug Abuse [NIDA] 2018).
The majority of cigarette smokers (68%) want to quit smoking completely (Babb et al. 2017). The 1990 Surgeon General’s report, The Health Benefits of Smoking Cessation, was the last Surgeon General’s report to focus on cur-rent research on smoking cessation and to predominantly review the health benefits of quitting smoking (USDHHS 1990). Because of limited data at that time, the 1990 report did not review the determinants, processes, or outcomes of attempts at smoking cessation. Pharmacotherapy for smoking cessation was not introduced until the 1980s. Additionally, behavioral and other counseling approaches were slow to develop and not widely available at the time of the 1990 report because few were covered under health insurance, and programs such as group counseling sessions were hard for smokers to access, even by those who were motivated to quit (Fiore et al. 1990).
The purpose of this report is to update and expand the 1990 Surgeon General’s report based on new scientific evidence on smoking cessation. Since 1990, the scientific literature has expanded greatly on the determinants and processes of smoking cessation, informing the development of interventions that promote cessation and help smokers quit (Fiore et al. 2008; Schlam and Baker 2013). This knowledge and other major developments have transformed the landscape of smoking cessation in the United States. This report summarizes this enhanced knowledge and specifically reviews patterns and trends of smoking cessation; biologic mechanisms; various health benefits; overall morbidity, mortality, and economic benefits; interventions; and policies that promote smoking cessation.
Conflict of interest statement
All senior scientific editors and contributing authors have completed and submitted a conflict of interest disclosure form. Unless otherwise noted below, no potential conflicts of interest were reported. Dr. Glenda Lassi reports being employed by AstraZeneca, a research-based biopharmaceutical company. Dr. Marcus R. Munafò reports receiving grant funding from Pfizer and Rusan Pharma and obtaining products for use in research from GlaxoSmithKline, a company that manufactures smoking cessation products. Dr. Judith J. Prochaska reports having served as an ad hoc advisor to Pfizer Inc, a company that manufactures smoking cessation medications.
Sections
- Message from Alex M. Azar II, Secretary, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
- Foreword
- Preface, from the Surgeon General
- Acknowledgments
- Chapter 1. Introduction, Conclusions, and the Evolving Landscape of Smoking Cessation
- Chapter 2. Patterns of Smoking Cessation Among U.S. Adults, Young Adults, and Youth
- Chapter 3. New Biological Insights into Smoking Cessation
- Chapter 4. The Health Benefits of Smoking Cessation
- Chapter 5. The Benefits of Smoking Cessation on Overall Morbidity, Mortality, and Economic Costs
- Chapter 6. Interventions for Smoking Cessation and Treatments for Nicotine Dependence
- Chapter 7. Clinical-, System-, and Population-Level Strategies that Promote Smoking Cessation
- Chapter 8. A Vision for the Future
- List of Abbreviations
Similar articles
-
Interventions for Tobacco Cessation in Adults, Including Pregnant Women: An Evidence Update for the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force [Internet].Rockville (MD): Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (US); 2021 Jan. Report No.: 20-05264-EF-1. Rockville (MD): Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (US); 2021 Jan. Report No.: 20-05264-EF-1. PMID: 33523610 Free Books & Documents. Review.
-
Behavioral Counseling and Pharmacotherapy Interventions for Tobacco Cessation in Adults, Including Pregnant Women: A Review of Reviews for the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force [Internet].Rockville (MD): Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (US); 2015 Sep. Report No.: 14-05200-EF-1. Rockville (MD): Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (US); 2015 Sep. Report No.: 14-05200-EF-1. PMID: 26491759 Free Books & Documents. Review.
-
The Economic Impact of Smoking and of Reducing Smoking Prevalence: Review of Evidence.Tob Use Insights. 2015 Jul 14;8:1-35. doi: 10.4137/TUI.S15628. eCollection 2015. Tob Use Insights. 2015. PMID: 26242225 Free PMC article. Review.
-
Population-based smoking cessation strategies: a summary of a select group of evidence-based reviews.Ont Health Technol Assess Ser. 2010;10(1):1-44. Epub 2010 Jan 1. Ont Health Technol Assess Ser. 2010. PMID: 23074386 Free PMC article.
-
Self-Reported Quit Aids and Assistance Used By Smokers At Their Most Recent Quit Attempt: Findings from the 2020 International Tobacco Control Four Country Smoking and Vaping Survey.Nicotine Tob Res. 2021 Aug 29;23(10):1699-1707. doi: 10.1093/ntr/ntab068. Nicotine Tob Res. 2021. PMID: 33837435 Free PMC article.
Publication types
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources