NewNow you can listen to Fox News articles!
As a physician, former member of Congress, and former Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I have focused most of my career on policies that improve health outcomes. I have also seen the harm caused by smoking closely. I lost my father to what I often call “Lucky Strike Lungs.” That experience has stayed with me — and it underscores a simple fact: Smoking is one of the nation’s most serious and persistent public health challenges.
Yet there is a growing habit in Washington to talk about smoking as if it is yesterday’s problem. It is not. Nearly 25 million American adults still smoke cigarettes, and many are left out of the public health conversation. This is its central message “The Forgotten Smoker,” A new white paper from Philip Morris International US (PMI US) urges policymakers to confront a reality they often ignore: Progress has stalled for millions of Americans and are still at greatest risk.
From a physician’s perspective, these are not American abstractions. They are patients, parents, employees, veterans and neighbors. Many people have attempted to quit more than once. Many people are well aware of the risks. But understanding the danger and overcoming addiction are not the same thing. If we are serious about reducing smoking-related disease, our policies must reflect the reality of adults who continue to smoke, rather than assuming that the problem will solve itself.
A more effective approach starts directly from a public health principle: the greatest harm comes from combustion. The FDA recognizes that tobacco and nicotine products exist on a continuum of risk, with cigarettes at the most dangerous end and smoke-free alternatives generally posing lower health risks than continued smoking. That matters. For adults who do not quit nicotine completely, moving away from cigarettes may still be a worthwhile health intervention.
Cigarette smoking in the US has fallen to historic single-digit lows, new study shows
There are 25 million Americans who still smoke, but they are ignored in the public health conversation. (iStock)
Unfortunately, that message is still not reaching those who need it most. The FDA can make real progress by authorizing smoke-free products through its rigorous scientific review process, but that progress means nothing if patients never hear about it—or if their physicians don’t feel prepared to discuss it accurately. As a physician, I find this particularly troubling. Regulatory action matters, but communication is what turns regulatory action into public health impact.
We can see the results in the data. A national survey of 1,565 US health care practitioners commissioned by PMI US and conducted by Povaddo LLC found that 47% mistakenly believe that nicotine is a carcinogen, while another 19% are unsure. The truth is that nicotine does not directly cause cancer.
The same survey found that 69% want the FDA to share clinical evidence on the role of smoke-free products in harm reduction, 68% want clearer guidance for counseling patients who want to move away from cigarettes, and 95% say they would share information provided by the FDA with patients. This is not a marginal discovery. This is a clear sign that physicians want reliable, practical tools – and the FDA is uniquely positioned to provide them.
Study shows disposable vapes are more toxic and carcinogenic than cigarettes
That confusion doesn’t stop at the clinic door. ““Forgotten Smoker” The research found that misinformation about nicotine and relative risk is widespread: 52% of Americans mistakenly believe that nicotine itself causes cancer, and 73% mistakenly believe that all tobacco and nicotine products are equally harmful.
Click here for more Fox News opinion
Yet the public also understands that the work is incomplete. When presented with a scale of continued smoking, 79% say more should be done to reduce smoking-related harm. In Washington, this should be seen for what it is: both a warning and an opportunity to act.
What should happen next is fairly straightforward. The FDA should equip physicians with practical, plain language guidance they can use now – materials developed with input from practicing physicians that explain what the agency has authorized, what that authorization does and does not mean, and how to have evidence-based conversations with adult smokers trying to transition away from cigarettes.
Click here to download Fox News App
It must state clearly and repeatedly what causes the greatest health risk: smoking, not nicotine. It should make authorization decisions understandable to non-specialists and bring that science into examining rooms, where patient decisions are often shaped. And it must speak directly to adult smokers in a way that meets them where they are, especially populations that are overrepresented among those who continue to smoke, including older Americans and veterans.
Good public health policy meets people where they are, uses the best available evidence, and provides both patients and physicians with the tools to act. The forgotten smoker has been ignored for too long. Washington must stop looking the other way.
Click here to read more from Dr. tom price
