Addressing Tobacco-Related Health Disparities—Faculty Members Support New Surgeon General’s Report
Following a rigorous review of the scientific evidence, what does the U.S. Surgeon General’s report recommend?
IGTC’s Ryan Kennedy (left) contributed to the report as a senior scientific editor and director Joanna Cohen (right) served as a reviewer.
A new report from the U.S. Surgeon General’s office concludes that, despite progress in reducing tobacco use at the population level, disparities continue to exist, leaving a range of Americans more vulnerable to disease, disability, and premature death related to commercial tobacco.
The report, Eliminating Tobacco-Related Disease and Death: Addressing Disparities—A Report of the Surgeon General, was published by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services today. Institute for Global Tobacco Control (IGTC) associate professor Ryan Kennedy, PhD, contributed to the report as a senior scientific editor, while IGTC director Joanna Cohen, PhD, served as a reviewer.
“At IGTC, we believe that everyone has a fair and just opportunity to attain their highest level of health, unburdened by the negative effects of tobacco,” said Kennedy. “Advancing tobacco-related health equity is central to the Surgeon General’s call-to-action, which entailed rigorous review of the latest scientific evidence behind disparity drivers, as well as the data on interventions to prevent and reduce health disparities, and a vision for equitably pursuing the tobacco endgame.”
The report asserts that the tobacco industry has specifically targeted these groups for decades, with products and marketing concentrated in communities with high populations of Black people, Hispanic people, and residents with lower incomes. It also pinpoints the design, engineering, and marketing of menthol cigarettes and other flavored tobacco products as instrumental in perpetuating tobacco initiation, addiction, and sustained use.
Among the report’s recommendations are restricting the availability of menthol cigarettes and applying an equity-informed approach to data from surveillance and intervention research, considering groups where high risk, data gaps, and disparities are known to exist. Further, the report emphasizes that endgame strategies to reduce tobacco-caused death and disease should also prioritize the creation of opportunities and conditions that promote healthy, tobacco-free living: “Interventions designed to reduce the use of tobacco products and the influences of the tobacco industry on society should accompany efforts to remove the underlying social, structural, commercial, and political drivers of health inequities.”
Other recommendations include:
Reducing the affordability, accessibility, appeal, and addictiveness of tobacco products
Eliminating secondhand smoke exposure
Implementing high-impact media campaigns
Providing barrier-free access to cessation support with broad reach to disparate populations
“The importance of this report cannot be overstated,” Cohen said. “Tobacco-related health disparities exist worldwide. This report offers a meticulous review of the existing evidence and makes recommendations that can put an end to tobacco-related health disparities.”
Access the report and related resources: