Healthy People 2020: Tobacco Use Chapter- Looking Forward

Introduction: Tobacco use is the single most preventable cause of death and disease in the United States. Cigarette smoking causes approximately 443,000 deaths each year.

Healthy People 2020 provides science-based, 10-year national objectives for promoting health and preventing disease. The Tobacco Use chapter aims to reduce illness, disability, and death related to tobacco use and secondhand smoke exposure. It is comprised of three topic areas: tobacco use, health systems changes, and social and environmental changes.

Key Points: The CDC leads the Tobacco Use Workgroup which is comprised of national and state agencies, and public organizations. The 2020 objectives were created through the workgroup selection process: 1) review of existing Healthy People 2010 objectives 2) workgroup discussions and feedback 3) draft Healthy People 2020 objectives created 4) public comment 5) HHS review 6) target setting. Each target was set using one of three methods: Primary (modeling or projection), Default (10 percent improvement) or Alternative (total elimination/coverage with national programs).

Conclusions: The Healthy People 2020 formulation process resulted in 20 objectives which were launched on December 6, 2010: 4 new, 4 retained, 12 modified, and 5 archived. While significant progress was made towards reaching the Healthy People 2010 objectives, comprehensive programs are needed to end the tobacco epidemic. If states fully invested in comprehensive tobacco control and prevention at CDC recommended levels for 5 years, there would be an estimated 5 million fewer smokers. As a result, hundreds of thousands of premature tobacco related deaths would be prevented.