March 2014
The ATS joined more than 30 medical and public health organizations in a letter urging the FDA to take immediate action to reduce the harm caused by tobacco products. The letter was prompted by the recent U.S. Surgeon General report that found tobacco products have become more dangerous and deadly since the first U.S. Surgeon General's Report on Smoking and Health alerted the nation that smoking causes 50 years ago. The new report found that, despite smoking fewer cigarettes, smokers today are at far greater risk of developing lung cancer, and concluded that this outcome is the result of changes made during that time in the design and composition of U.S. cigarettes.
The letter calls on the FDA to act on the recommendations of the U.S. Surgeon General report and use its regulatory authority over all tobacco products to reduce the addictiveness and harm caused by tobacco products.
