Tobacco use: prevention and control.

While millions have stopped smoking in the past two decades, about 55 million people continue to smoke in the U.S. Of these smokers 85% would like to quit, and a majority have tried to do so at least once. However, a large percentage of the smoking population is still unappreciative of the excessive health risks associated with smoking; the smoking cessation rates of adult women are not as encouraging as those for adult men; smoking rates in girls in late adolescence are still increasing; and a large percentage of those continuing to smoke are heavy smokers; it is the heavy smokers, in particular, who get cancer. It is imperative that effective smoking cessation strategies be tested and developed in controlled clinical trials, and this effort must be given as high a priority as any other public health initiative between now and the end of this century.