Fewer people are smoking but federal report reveals some populations face higher risks

WASHINGTON D.C. — Smoking has decreased more than 70% nationwide since 1965, according to a new report from the U.S. Surgeon General.

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However, despite this decline, Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy warns this progress through tobacco-related policies, regulations, and programs has been equal for every population.

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This new report shows cigarette smoking is higher among American Indian and Alaska Native people than other racial and ethnic groups and more than twice as common among adults living in poverty. It also finds that Black people are more likely to be exposed to secondhand smoke.

This all comes as the research shows cigarette smoking and secondhand smoke kill nearly half a million people each year nationwide.

“Until we more aggressively regulate the tobacco industry…we’re going to still have an epidemic, and we’re still going to be using unnecessary amounts of resources to combat death and disease decades down the line,” said Yolonda Richardson, President and CEO of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.

Richardson believes there should be a whole-of-government approach to help lower these rates. She also wants to see more policies like smoking bans and awareness campaigns to help prevent the next generation from becoming smokers.

“Making sure that the tobacco products are taxed at really high rates so they’re inaccessible to kids but also encourage quitting because as the price point becomes more expensive people will in fact try to quit,” said Richardson.

This report also points to the targeted marketing by the tobacco industry as another factor. It shows the tobacco industry outspends tobacco control groups annually with more than $8.5 billion spent on ads and promotions for tobacco-related products each year. The report also shows examples of some of these targeted ads toward minority groups and residents with lower incomes.

“It’s had an effect,” said Thomas Carr with the American Lung Association. “It’s shown in the people who still in the disparities we see in the people who still use tobacco products.”

The Washington News Bureau reached out to several tobacco companies about this report.

The Altria Group, which is known for brands like Marlboro and Black & Mild, declined to comment about the findings.

Juul Labs, which produces vapor products, said it never manufactured combustible cigarettes and manufactured “potentially less harmful alternatives.”

The company has also changed its marketing strategy. “As part of a far-reaching effort to reset our company’s relationship with our stakeholders, Juul Labs halted all mass-market product advertising including broadcast, print, and digital more than five years ago,” said Juul Labs in a written statement.

Leaders from the Vapor Technology Association (VTA) call the Surgeon General’s report “disappointing, but not surprising.”

“The Surgeon General’s latest report weaponizes these alternatives by lumping together all flavored “tobacco” products and calling for their outright ban. This rejection of science is unacceptable,” said Tony Abboud, Executive Director of the Vapor Technology Association in a written statement. “Flavored e-cigarettes are a proven tool to help Americans quit smoking the very cigarettes that cause the 500,000 deaths referenced in the report.”

The report also calls for solutions to help drive down the addictiveness and availability of commercial tobacco products. Some strategies include limiting the amount of nicotine in cigarettes and other combusted tobacco products and regulating the number of stores that sell tobacco.

Full Statement from Tony Abboud, Executive Director of the Vapor Technology Association:

“The latest report from the U.S. Surgeon General on commercial tobacco-related health disparities in the United States is disappointing, but not surprising.

Despite calls from America’s leading tobacco-control scientists for public health agencies to speak honestly about the benefits of e-cigarettes, the Surgeon General and other federal bureaucrats at the FDA continue to attack flavored e-cigarettes and other alternatives to combustible cigarettes.

The Surgeon General’s latest report weaponizes these alternatives by lumping together all flavored “tobacco” products and calling for their outright ban. This rejection of science is unacceptable. Flavored e-cigarettes are a proven tool to help Americans quit smoking the very cigarettes that cause the 500,000 deaths referenced in the report.

Their poor leadership is further exemplified by their outright disingenuous complaints on the cigarette industry’s advertising of the more than 900 new cigarettes the Biden FDA has fast tracked to market in the past two years, while it has prevented virtually every single less harmful vaping product and a nicotine pouch from being legally sold.

We need public health officials that are willing to be honest with American voters about the benefits of the less harmful nicotine options they demand access to.”

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