America will not be able to meet its 2010 Healthy people goal of bringing down the number of smokers to less than 12 percent according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention experts.
This means that there will continue to be high levels of health problems and death that arise from smoking. Country will also continue to be affected by lower productivity according to a CDC study.
Effective tobacco control programs can bring down the number of premature deaths in America where the smoking is one of the largest causes for disease and death. These efforts could also save a lot of money for the country.
According to a 2007 study conducted by the National Health Interview Survey, 19.8% of Americans were current smokers which was considerably lesser than the previous year. In spite of this encouraging trend, the country may not be able to achieve its 2010 target according to the researchers.
The number of premature deaths due to smoking and exposure to secondhand smoke is also higher than before. Subsequently, health care costs related to smoking have also increased in the United States.
As compared to this, money spent on programs and prevention control measures by the state were negligible. According to a third study, if efforts were taken towards reducing secondary exposure to smoke, there could be a considerable decrease in the number of deaths resulting from COPD or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in the United States. Air pollution and smoking are predominant causes of COPD.
