Texas Tobacco Summit Today and Tomorrow

Lewis Foxhall, MD, vice president for health policy at MD Anderson Cancer Center and TMA Board of Trustees member, and a team of antitobacco scientists, educators, and advocates are hosting the Texas Tobacco Summit June 26 and 27 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the surgeon general’s report linking smoking with lung cancer.

The summit bring together national and statewide experts to address effective strategies for curbing tobacco use a

cross Texas, and to discuss the rise in e-cigarette use and scientific evidence on the danger from second hand smoke. “We hope to create a platform to share information and tools with one another,” Dr. Foxhall said.

“Now is the time to address tobacco in Texas,” he said. “Fifty years later, tobacco remains America’s biggest cause of preventable death and illness, and while much has been done, there is much more that can and should be done.

“Promoting education to eliminate tobacco use among our youth, promoting evidence-based strategies to help smokers quit, and making sure that the harmful effects of secondhand smoke are addressed are critical to our future. This summit will explore and develop ways to prevent and control tobacco use, which still remains a powerful public health threat.”