With the special session on health care going on in the state Capitol, there has been renewed attention on how to fix our broken health care system. But before we can make a comprehensive change, we need to fix one of our oldest and most persistent public health threats — tobacco addiction. Although many diseases get front page coverage, smoking addiction has always been and remains one of the greatest health threats to the American public, especially our most vulnerable poor and minority citizens. Poorer Americans are more likely to begin smoking, more likely to be current smokers, and less likely to quit smoking. What's more, smoking is more likely to keep poor Americans stuck at the bottom of the economic ladder.