The National Cancer Act, 1971

The passage of the National Cancer Act (NCA) in 1971¹ paved the way for cancer prevention through National Cancer Institute (NCI) grants for scientific research that would inform tobacco control continuously for the next five decades. Scientific research funded by the Tobacco Control Research Branch of the Division of Cancer Control & Population Sciences at the NCI provides the data that are the foundation of evidence-based tobacco control policies. The grantees of NCI funds are encouraged to disseminate their research findings to a wide array of audiences, including tobacco control program beneficiaries, public health practitioners, researchers, and federal, state, and local policymakers. The numerous scientific publications and conference presentations generated from these research initiatives speak to the substantial return on investment made possible by the NCA. In addition, the provisions of the NCA that focused on health care and cancer care delivery systems have been critical in defining the role of health care providers and oncologists in advancing tobacco control efforts, particularly in promoting smoking cessation. Cessation can reduce the risk of all 12 different cancers caused by smoking.