Tobacco and Cancer Resources

Tobacco Products and Cancer Resources

Tobacco use is the number one preventable risk factor for cancer and cardiovascular disease. Since the 1960s, the United States has achieved great success with decreasing tobacco smoking rates from a peak of greater than 40 percent of U.S. adults to 12.5 percent in 2021. Unfortunately, increasing youth tobacco use, particularly e-cigarettes and other electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS), has halted this progress. In 2022, more than 2.5 million youth reported using e-cigarettes, including more than 14 percent of all U.S. high school students. Below are links to resources and information on smoking cessation, tobacco use assessments, and important reports on tobacco products, for:

• Policy Makers
• People Who Use Tobacco and Their Families
• Healthcare Providers

Policy Makers

Effective tobacco control policies have greatly helped reduce tobacco use and related illnesses since the 1960s. The most impactful policy changes to address tobacco-related illness include: taxes on tobacco products; product warning labels; minimum age purchasing laws, and; smoking bans in public spaces. Below are additional resources to strengthen tobacco control policy.

• AACR-ASCO Joint Recommendations for ENDS regulation
• AACR Policy Positions and Statements
• AACR Tobacco Policy Events
• U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Comprehensive Plan for Tobacco and Nicotine Regulation
• U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Best Practices for Comprehensive Tobacco Control Programs
  • State Fact Sheets and Funding Levels

People Who Use Tobacco and Their Families

Quitting smoking is the number one thing someone who smokes can do to improve their health. Quitting tobacco use at any age or health condition will improve health, including after a cancer diagnosis. Using evidence-based tobacco cessation therapies greatly increases the chance of a successful quit attempt, but less than one third of people who try to quit use them. Below are free evidence-based resources to improve the chances of quitting.

• SmokeFree.gov
• The North American Quitline Consortium
  • 1-800-QUIT-NOW (English)
  • 1-855-DEJELO-YA (Español)
• CDC
  • Health Effects of Cigarette Smoking
  • Electronic Cigarettes

Healthcare Providers

The vast majority of adults who smoke are interested in quitting, but less than a third who try to quit use evidence-based methods. Additionally, almost two thirds of youth who use tobacco are interested in quitting. Assistance from healthcare providers greatly increases the chances someone will successfully quit, but over 40 percent of adults who smoke never receive advice to quit from their providers. Even providing brief advice when prompted by an electronic health record system can greatly improve chances of quitting. Below are resources to assist patients to quit using tobacco products.

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)

• The 5 A’s of tobacco cessation
• Clinical Practice Guidelines

National Cancer Institute (NCI)

• Cancer Center Cessation Initiative
• Monograph on “Treating Smoking in Cancer Patients”
• Assessing Cancer Patient Tobacco Use

CDC

• Healthcare Providers: Tools and Resources
• Surgeon General Report on Smoking Cessation

FDA-Approved Pharmacotherapies

Recommendations from the U.S. Preventative Services Task Force (USPSTF)

• Prevention and Cessation of Tobacco Use in Children and Adolescents: Primary Care Interventions
• Interventions for Tobacco Smoking Cessation in Adults, Including Pregnant Persons