Tobacco Use

Tobacco use is a major preventable cause of premature death and disease worldwide. Currently, approximately 5.4 million people around the world die each year due to tobacco-related illnesses. In the United States, an estimated 46.6 million people – about one in five adults – currently smoke, and an estimated 443,000 people die prematurely from diseases caused by smoking or second-hand smoke exposure. 

CDC has identified reducing tobacco use as a winnable battle. With additional effort and support for evidence-based, cost-effective strategies that we can implement now, we will have a significant impact on our nation's health at home and abroad.

The tobacco briefing folder provides a snapshot of the context and background for this priority area, as well as descriptions of some of the systems, policy, and programmatic interventions pursued by CDC and our public health partners at the global, federal, state and local levels. This information will be updated periodically as new data or relevant information becomes available.

For more information or if you have questions about the materials provided here, please contact adprogram@cdc.gov

Tobacco Briefing Materials:

• Introduction letter from CDC Director Dr. Thomas R. Frieden [PDF - 75KB]
• PowerPoint slides, which can be tailored for use at the federal, state and local levels by adding specific data, case studies, and other useful information [PPT - 12.1MB]
• At-a-glance/fact sheet, which provides an overview of the major issues, CDC's role in preventing tobacco use, and future directions and opportunities
• Vital Signs, which evaluates public health problems created by cigarette smoking and secondhand smoke, while also offering solutions to be carried out across multiple levels
  • Vital Signs: Adult Smoking in the U.S.
  • Vital Signs: Smoking
  • Vital Signs: Secondhand Smoke

Supplemental materials include:

• Fact sheets
  • State Tobacco Activities Tracking and Evaluation (STATE) System Publications
  • Fast Facts: Morbidity and Mortality (Related to Tobacco Use) [PDF - 194KB]
• Scientific articles
  • World Health Organization (WHO) Report on the Global Tobacco Epidemic, 2011
    • CDC Statement on the Report
    • WHO Report on the status of global tobacco control policy implementation
  • MMWR: Current Cigarette Smoking Prevalence Among Working Adults – United States, 2004-2010
  • MMWR: Cigarette Use Among High School Students – United States, 1991-2009
  • Policy-driven tobacco control [PDF - 164KB]
  • MMWR: State Smoke-Free Laws for Worksites, Restaurants, and Bars – United States, 2000-2010
  • Adult Tobacco Use Levels After Intensive Tobacco Control Measures: New York City, 2002-2003
  • Public health in New York City, 2002-2007: confronting epidemics of the modern era [PDF - 140KB]
  • The quarter that changed the world [PDF - 1.43MB]
  • The National Tobacco Control Program: Focusing on Policy to Broaden Impact [PDF - 79KB]
  • The impact of social norm change strategies on smokers' quitting behaviours [PDF - 157KB]
  • Differences by Sex in Tobacco Use and Awareness of Tobacco Marketing – Bangladesh, Thailand, and Uruguay, 2009 [PDF - 1.33MB]
  • Patterns of global tobacco use in young people and implications for future chronic disease burden in adults [PDF - 167KB]
  • CDC Grand Rounds: Current Opportunities in Tobacco Control
• Community Guide Recommendations
  • Tobacco Use
• Brochures
  • CDC's Tobacco Laboratory

Tobacco Best Practices:

• CDC's Best Practices for Comprehensive Tobacco Control Programs – An evidence-based guide to help states plan and establish effective tobacco control programs to prevent and reduce tobacco use.
• CDC's Best Practices User Guide: Coalitions—State and Community Interventions – A guide that focuses on the critical role coalitions play in a comprehensive tobacco control program.
• CDC's Best Practices User Guide: Youth Engagement—State and Community Interventions – A guide that focuses on the role youth play in advancing policy as part of a comprehensive tobacco control program.
• The World Health Organization (WHO) Tobacco Free Initiative: MPOWER [PDF - 5.51MB] – A guide that summarizes key data and recommendations in each of the MPOWER (Monitor, Protect, Offer, Warn, Enforce, Raise) measures.