The Research

The medical community releases volumes of research each year that address nicotine addiction and smoking cessation. The majority of reports find that smoking is a highly addictive medical condition and that smokers need access to a range of treatments in order to quit. Take a look at the following links to review the latest research.

Black Folks Don’t Use Quitlines (PDF)

The National African American Tobacco Education Network (NAATEN) recently released an executive summary of a nearly yearlong assessment of quitlines as an intervention to reach and increase quit rates among African American and Black tobacco users.

State of Tobacco Control Report (PDF)

The American Lung Association recently released their annual State of Tobacco Control Report which grades each state on four key tobacco control areas: Tobacco Prevention and Control Spending, Cigarette Tax, Smokefree Air, and Youth Access. To see the California grades, our news release and the full national report, click here.

Preventive Care: A National Profile on Use, Disparities, and Health Benefits (PDF)

The report concluded that increasing use of just 5 preventive services would save more than 100,000 lives every year in the United States. In addition, the report estimates that 40,000+ lives would be saved annually if smoking cessation products were properly utilized. The study also found serious deficiencies in the use of preventive care for the nation as a whole-and particularly troubling shortfalls for racial and ethnic populations.

President’s Panel on Cancer Calls for Expansion of Smoking Cessation Benefits (PDF)

Addiction to nicotine in cigarettes is the number one cause of preventable death in the United States and the second leading cause of human death on planet Earth. But according to the President’s Cancer Council, tobacco-cessation services and medications are still not a standard part of all health insurance.

CDC Outlines Clinical Guidelines for Treating Tobacco Use (PDF)

The guideline contains strategies and recommendations designed to assist clinicians; tobacco dependence treatment specialists; and health care administrators, insurers, and purchasers in delivering and supporting effective treatments for tobacco use and dependence. The recommendations were sponsored by a consortium of seven Federal Government and nonprofit organizations: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC); the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, (AHRQ); National Cancer Institute (NCI); National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI); National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA); Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF); and the University of Wisconsin Medical School’s Center for Tobacco Research and Intervention (CTRI).

Institute of Medicine Report Ending the Tobacco Problem: A Blueprint for the Nation, May 2007 (PDF)

The Institute of Medicine serves as adviser to the nation to improve health. Established in 1970 under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Medicine provides independent, objective, evidence-based advice to policymakers, health professionals, the private sector, and the public.

UC Study: Uninsured are More Likely to Smoke (PDF)

Counseling or drug therapy or a combination of both help people quit smoking and stay quit- according to an analysis of Senate Bill 24 by the California Health Benefits Review Program. What’s more, uninsured Californians are more likely to smoke and 60% of smokers try to quit every year, but only 25% participate in formal assistance programs.

American Cancer Society Editorial: First, Let’s Help Smokers Quit (PDF)

An op-ed by the Vice President of Legislative Advocacy for the American Cancer Society, California Division calls upon health care reformers to create effective ways to help people quit. The editorial points out that many Californians, despite their best intentions and the support of their family members, cannot quit on their own. The bottom line is that smokers unable to quit should be able to get help from their doctor.