Americans are still dying from smoking-related diseases. Here’s how we can help reduce deaths.

Nearly 500,000 Americans die from smoking-related diseases each year. This is a tragic number that has not changed significantly in decades. Even after the watershed Tobacco Control Act, the establishment of the U.S Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Tobacco Products for regulatory oversight, the enormous penalties levied at tobacco companies, and an aggressive public health response centered on a “tobacco endgame,” consumers still choose to smoke. And—as the health data proves—continue to put their long-term health at risk.

The reality is that we live in a time very different from the combustible tobacco heyday. We learn more every day about who smokes and uses other tobacco products and why, and with that knowledge comes the responsibility to change how we help individuals quit or transition to safer alternatives. 

Fortunately, new reduced-risk products are providing a clear alternative to smoking, evidenced by the large number of smokers who have moved to electronic cigarettes and other reduced-risk options like oral nicotine and heat-not-burn products. In fact, smokers are transitioning to less-risky products even in the face of misinformation about these options and a regulatory environment that has made it nearly impossible for them to enter the U.S. marketplace. 

But the fact remains that Americans are still dying in large numbers from smoking-related diseases. We have to do more. Industry stakeholders, regulatory bodies, and public health experts must work together—instead of in opposition—to reduce smoking-related death rates and provide smokers with safer options. 

With that in mind, the R Street Institute is publishing a three-part series on tobacco issues and policy that will provide a science-based roadmap for policymakers, regulators, public health professionals, and industry to work together to save lives and improve Americans’ health in the long run. 

This continues R Street’s years of work with lawmakers, coalition allies, and key stakeholders on tobacco harm reduction and other health issues—areas of public health where abstinence-only approaches can’t abate risky behaviors at the population level. 

Most importantly, this new policy series will address the health risks of smoking through the lens of preserving individual liberty and promoting public safety. 

Read the first paper, “Tobacco Control 2.0: A Modern Approach to a Decades-Old Problem”

Read the second paper, “Reasonable Regulation Can End Combustion-Related Death and Disease”

Read the third paper, “Economic Pathways to Better Health”