HHS Tobacco Strategic Plan Launch: Join Stakeholder Call

Stakeholder call with Assistant Secretary for Health Dr. Howard Koh about the HHS tobacco strategic plan was released this morning. Visit their website for more information: www.fda.gov/Nov10TobaccoAnnouncement

A call that will follow the release of the HHS tobacco strategic plan this morning was just announced. This call – scheduled for 2:45 – 3:30 ET — is with Dr. Howard Koh, the HHS Secretary for Health, and will be an opportunity for you to ask questions about the plan. Please see call-in information below. Thanks and we apologize for any inconvenience this late notice may create.

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and other Administration officials on Wednesday, November 10, 2010 will announce the government’s new tobacco prevention efforts. Kathleen Sebelius, HHS Secretary Howard K. Koh, MD, MPH, HHS Assistant Secretary for Health Margaret A. Hamburg, MD, Food and Drug Administration Commissioner

All are invited to ask questions and participate in a stakeholder call with Dr. Howard Koh at Wednesday, November 10, 2010 2:45 – 3:30 p.m. EST

Dial-in: 888-324-2906

Participant Code: 1777906

Tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable death in the United States, responsible for more than 440,000 premature deaths each year. Over the past 40 years, our nation has dramatically reduced tobacco use, but recently it has experienced a stall in those declines. Currently, 20.6% of adults and 19.5% of high school students smoke cigarettes. Reducing the nation’s tobacco use rate – and preventing people from starting in the first place – is a top public health priority for the Administration. Comprehensive and sustained tobacco control efforts are necessary to effectively eliminate this epidemic.