50 Years After the First Report on Smoking by a Surgeon General

If you have been able to see through all the smoke of the current and ongoing marijuana discussion, perhaps you've noted that 2014 Surgeon General's Report: The Health Consequences of Smoking—50 Years of Progress has been issued.

Picture courtesy of iStockPhoto.com

There is good news:

• In 50 years, smoking has been decreased by more than half
• Twenty-five states and DC have comprehensive laws that prohibit smoking in indoor areas of work-sites, restaurants, and bars.
• The military has heeded the warnings of the Surgeon General 
• Nicotine's addictive effects have been known since 1988

There is still plenty of work to be done. Of the 10 major findings of the report: 

1. Research continues to identify new diseases caused by smoking
2. We know more about the harms of secondhand smoke and the adverse health effects on children and infants
3. Disease risks for women now equal those of men
4. Though smoking has declined, large disparities in tobacco use remain across race, ethnicity, educational levels, socioeconomic status and regions of the country