Today is "The Great American Smokeout" -- an appropriate day to take a moment to spare a thought for the 44 million Americans in the grip of a deadly addiction. Over half of all smokers tried to quit last year, and an estimated 443,000 died from cigarette-related illness.
Public health officials made great strides in reducing the prevalence of smoking, beginning with the groundbreaking Surgeon General's report in 1964. Back in the 1970s, 2 out of every 5 adults puffed: now about 1 in 5 do -- but what's left seems to be a coterie of hardcore addicts for whom the officially approved methods of smoking cessation just don't work. Figures released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last week reveal the sad truth: The U.S. made no progress toward reducing smoking rates in 2011, and has made very little since 2005.
When it comes to smoking cessation, public health officials are out of ideas -- and it shows. Delegates from more than 140 countries that are party to the World Health Organization's anti-tobacco treaty, the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), are meeting in Seoul, South Korea, this week, and high on their agenda is banning or further restricting the best hope for slowing this catastrophe: harm reduction through electronic cigarettes and smokeless tobacco products.
