Building a United Front: Aligning the Agendas for Tobacco Control, Lung Cancer Research, and Policy
- 1Department of Behavioral Science, The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas; 2School of Nursing, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California; 3Department of Health Policy and Management, Fay W. Boozman College of Public Health, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, Arkansas; 4American Legacy Foundation, Washington, District of Columbia; and 5Mailman School of Public Health of Columbia University, New York, New York
- Requests for reprints:
Ellen R. Gritz, Department of Behavioral Science, The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Unit 1330, P.O. Box 301439, Houston, TX 77230-1439. Fax: 713-794-4730. E-mail: egritz{at}mdanderson.org
Abstract
Our society bears a tremendous public health burden from tobacco-related disability and death, particularly in the realm of cancer. Yet research in lung cancer and other tobacco-related diseases research is dramatically underfunded when compared to the number of people affected. Persuading policy makers to increase funding for tobacco-related research, treatment, and policy initiatives will require considerable cooperation among the researchers, clinicians, and advocates who focus on tobacco control and those who concentrate on tobacco-related disease. Traditionally, these groups have battled over resources, expending precious energy competing for scarce funding. We propose a new way forward: these forces should come together in support of a common agenda that includes both increased tobacco control efforts and additional funding for disease-related research and treatment. Speaking with a unified voice in support of a full continuum of tobacco-related policy initiatives would significantly increase the size and influence of the coalition working to address this public health epidemic. Working together offers our nation the best chance of significantly reducing the scourge of disease and death caused by tobacco use. (Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2007;16(5):859–63)
Footnotes
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↵6 E.R. Gritz et al. Chronic disease and co-occurring risk from smoking. Am J Prev Med. Submitted for publication.
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↵7 D. Wollins. Smoking cessation and clinical trials, email communication to ER Gritz re: Cancer Prevention Committee Mtg, Jan 19, 2007. Personal communication.
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↵8 E.R. Gritz et al. Tobacco and smoking cessation: focus on oncology. In: DeVita V, Lawrence TS, Rosenberg SA, editors. Cancer: Principles and Practice of Oncology. 8th ed. Submitted for publication.
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Grant support: Robert Wood Foundation and National Cancer Institute/Cancer Center Support grant 5P30 CA016672.
