ATTENTION EDITORS AND REPORTERS:UCLA experts available for interviews about this news story:
JAMA study finds that cigarettes contribute to 29 percent of U.S. cancer deaths
Dr. Michael Ong: associate professor in residence of medicine in the division of general internal medicine and health services research at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. He obtained his M.D. from the University of California, San Diego and his Ph.D. in Health Services and Policy Analysis from the University of California, Berkeley. Ong is a practicing general internist. His research interests focus on improving the delivery of appropriate and efficient health care by general internal medicine physicians. His research has applied this focus in several areas of general medicine, including hospital-based care, mental health, and tobacco control.
Ong was recently reappointed by California Governor Jerry Brown to the Tobacco Education and Research Oversight (TEROC) committee. Ong has served on the committee since 2007 and as its chair since 2009.
A new study by the American Cancer Society has found that that at least 167,000 cancer deaths in 2014—about 29 percent of all deaths due to the disease in the United States—were attributable to smoking cigarettes. The results were published today in JAMA Internal Medicine.
The researchers found that 9 of 14 states with the least comprehensive smoke-free indoor air policies are in the South. The average cigarette excise tax in major tobacco states, mostly in the South, is 49 cents, compared with $1.80 elsewhere. The tobacco industry heavily influences these policies and most of the US tobacco crop is grown in the South, the researchers said. The region also has relatively high levels of poverty, which is also linked with smoking.
Quote about new JAMA study: “Smoke-free indoor air laws and policies reduce cancer related deaths by reducing the total number of individuals exposed to secondhand smoke, as secondhand smoke exposure is causally related to cancer,” says Ong. “Additionally, these laws and policies also reduce cancer related deaths by inducing current smokers to quit.”
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