Report Shows Progress in Fight Against Cancer, but Congress, States Must Step Up Efforts to Reduce Smoking, L...( WASHINGTON Nov. 26 -- The following ...),Health

WASHINGTON, Nov. 26 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following statement by Matthew L. Myers, President of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, was released today:

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Delivering good news for our nation's health, a new report released by the nation's leading cancer organizations finds that, for the first time, both the incidence and death rates for all cancers combined are decreasing for both men and women, driven in part by declines in smoking and lung cancer. The report attributes much of the overall progress to declines in the three most common cancers among men (lung, colon/rectum and prostate) and the two most common cancers among women (breast and colon/rectum), combined with a leveling off of lung cancer death rates among women.

This report provides powerful and concrete evidence that efforts to reduce smoking, particularly at the state and local level, are paying off by saving lives and improving health. However, the report also provides troubling evidence that the federal government and the states are not doing nearly enough to implement scientifically proven solutions to reduce smoking. Lung cancer - the vast majority of which is caused by smoking - remains by far the leading cancer killer among both men and women. In addition, there are large state and regional disparities in lung cancer trends, especially among women, and these disparities not surprisingly coincide with higher smoking rates and fewer tobacco control activities. There is no question that, to win the war against cancer, we must also step up the fight against smoking, which causes 30 percent of all cancers, according to the U.S. Surgeon General.

In many ways, we have become a nation of haves and have-nots when it comes to reducing smoking and lun
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