Introduction

The Tobacco Atlas of the United States of America (referred to as The US Tobacco Atlas) aims to orient readers to the facts and figures of the tobacco epidemic in the US, highlighting its health and economic burden focusing on the cancer burden. It also underscores advances in tobacco control that are pivotal in the prevention of noncommunicable diseases and saving lives.

Six decades have passed since the publication of the first US Surgeon General’s Report on Smoking and Health in 1964 that announced the detriment smoking causes to individuals, families and societies and called for action to curb the tobacco epidemic (Figure 0.2.1). The journey of tobacco control at the national, state, and local levels has come a long way since then and a lot more remains to be done.

It is essential to continuously update the knowledge, perception, and awareness of people about the developments in the tobacco control space across the nation and seek their full participation in uprooting the most preventable cause of death and disability. The United States is a country of diverse populations and entities that show substantial internal variation in the challenges and opportunities associated with the tobacco epidemic and the required policy attention. Uncovering heterogeneity at the sub-national (e.g., state, city, county) and disaggregated levels masked under the national and state averages is key to ensuring that no region or community is left behind in the effort to end the devastation tobacco causes to individuals and communities (Map 0.2.1). It is an integral part of identifying barriers to and setting priorities for the tobacco control movement.

The US Tobacco Atlas offers a high-level view of the tobacco landscape in the US and maps out the burden of tobacco use and the means of relieving this burden from both national and state-level perspectives. It bridges research and popular beliefs through knowledge translation and effective communication of scientific evidence by presenting well-vetted consensus information in a user-friendly layout organized in four sections: Tobacco Use, Disparities in Tobacco Use, Health and Economic Burden, and Advances in Tobacco Control.