The first Series paper focuses on the US, where despite great efforts to reduce the number of deaths and illness due to tobacco use, progress in decreasing the prevalence of tobacco use has slowed.

The authors, Corinne Husten of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Rockville, USA, and Lawrence Deyton of George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Washington DC, USA, explain how the FDA regulates tobacco use, and showing where control efforts might be improved and challenges persist.

According to Drs Husten and Deyton, “Tobacco product regulation has the potential to be a game-changer for tobacco prevention and control. However, regulation of tobacco products in isolation cannot solve the public health problem caused by tobacco use. It is only with the full implementation of both traditional public health strategies and new regulatory authorities that we will ensure that tobacco-related morbidity and mortality is part of the USA’s past, not its future.”

Source: The Lancet