Measuring the Health Impact of Smoking and Health Care Providers' Performance in Addressing the Problem
Authors: Ronald M. Davis
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2006)

Editorials21 March 2006Measuring the Health Impact of Smoking and Health Care Providers' Performance in Addressing the ProblemRonald M. Davis, MDRonald M. Davis, MDFrom Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, Henry Ford Health System, Detroit, MI 48202-3450.Author, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-144-6-200603210-00013 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail In the preface to the 1990 U.S. Surgeon General's report on the health benefits of smoking cessation, U.S. Surgeon General Antonia C. Novello stated that "smoking represents the most extensively documented cause of disease ever investigated in the history of biomedical research" (1). Since then, the evidence on the dangers of smoking has continued to grow, and U.S. Surgeon General Richard H. Carmona issued a 941-page report in 2004 that summarized the voluminous literature on the myriad ways in which smoking affects every organ system in the body (2).One might question whether more research on the health effects of ...References1. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Health Benefits of Smoking Cessation: A Report of the Surgeon General. DHHS publication no. (CDC) 90-8416. Rockville, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office on Smoking and Health; 1990. Google Scholar2. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Health Consequences of Smoking: A Report of the Surgeon General. Atlanta: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Office on Smoking and Health; 2004. Google Scholar3. Davis RM. Is there a role for health-effects research? [Editorial]. Tob Control. 1992;1:241-3. CrossrefGoogle Scholar4. Vollset SE, Tverdal A, Gjessing HK. Smoking and deaths between 40 and 70 years of age in women and men. Ann Intern Med. 2006;144:381-9. LinkGoogle Scholar5. National Cancer Institute. Your Risk from Smoking. Accessed at dccps.nci.nih.gov/tcrb/smokersrisk on 10 February 2006. Google Scholar6. Lando HA, Thai DT, Murray DM, Robinson LA, Jeffery RW, Sherwood NE, et al. Age of initiation, smoking patterns, and risk in a population of working adults. Prev Med. 1999;29:590-8. [PMID: 10600442] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar7. Breslau N, Peterson EL. Smoking cessation in young adults: age at initiation of cigarette smoking and other suspected influences. Am J Public Health. 1996;86:214-20. [PMID: 8633738] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar8. National Center for Tobacco-Free Older Persons. The Center for Social Gerontology. Accessed at www.tcsg.org/tobacco.htm on 10 February 2006. Google Scholar9. Orleans CT. Reducing tobacco harms among older adults: a critical agenda for tobacco control [Editorial]. Tob Control. 1997;6:161-3. [PMID: 9396093] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar10. Hunt K. Medicare ushers in new smoking cessation coverage. ACP Observer. May 2005. Accessed at www.acponline.org/journals/news/may05/smoking.htm on 30 January 2006. Google Scholar11. Fiore MC, Bailey WC, Cohen SJ, Dorfman SF, Goldstein MG, Gritz ER, et al. Treating Tobacco Use and Dependence. Clinical Practice Guideline. Rockville, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service; 6 2000. Google Scholar12. National Committee for Quality Assurance. The State of Health Care Quality: 2005. Washington, DC: National Committee for Quality Assurance; 2005. Accessed at www.ncqa.org/Communications/News/SOHC_2005.htm on 31 January 2006. Google Scholar13. Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations. Core Measures: Performance Measurement. Accessed at www.jcaho.org/pms/core+measures/index.htm on 10 February 2006. Google Scholar14. Williams SC, Schmaltz SP, Morton DJ, Koss RG, Loeb JM. Quality of care in U.S. hospitals as reflected by standardized measures, 2002-2004. N Engl J Med. 2005;353:255-64. [PMID: 16034011] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar15. Physician Consortium for Performance Improvement. Accessed at www.ama-assn.org/go/physicianconsortium on 10 February 2006. Google Scholar16. National Quality Forum. Specifications of the National Voluntary Consensus Standards for Ambulatory Care. Accessed at www.qualityforum.org/docs/ambulatory_care/txAmbcare+DiabetesTechSpecs01-13-06CLEAN.pdf on 20 February 2006. Google Scholar17. National Quality Forum. National Voluntary Consensus Standards for Hospital Care: An Initial Performance Measurement Set. Washington, DC: National Quality Forum; 2003. Accessed at www.qualityforum.org/txhospmeasBEACHpublicnew.pdf on 10 February 2006. Google Scholar18. Ambulatory Care Quality Alliance. Accessed at www.ambulatoryqualityalliance.org on 13 February 2006. Google Scholar19. The Framework Convention Alliance for Tobacco Control. Accessed at www.fctc.org on 24 February 2006. Google Scholar20. United States signs tobacco control treaty [press release]. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; 11 May 2004. Accessed at www.hhs.gov/news/press/2004pres/20040511.html on 31 January 2006. Google Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAuthors: Ronald M. Davis, MDAffiliations: From Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, Henry Ford Health System, Detroit, MI 48202-3450.Disclosure: Dr. Davis is a member of the American Medical Association's Board of Trustees and the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations' Board of Commissioners.Corresponding Author: Ronald M. Davis, MD, Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, Henry Ford Health System, One Ford Place, 5C, Detroit, MI 48202-3450; e-mail, [email protected]org. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoSmoking and Deaths between 40 and 70 Years of Age in Women and Men Stein Emil Vollset , Aage Tverdal , and Håkon K. Gjessing Metrics Cited byAdvancing Public Health Through Continuing Education of Health Care ProfessionalsContribution of Residential Relocation and Lifestyle to the Structure of Health TrajectoriesThe Hitchhiker's Guide to Tobacco Control: A Global Assessment of Harms, Remedies, and Controversies 21 March 2006Volume 144, Issue 6Page: 444-446KeywordsHealth careHealth information technologyHealth promotionLung and intrathoracic tumorsMedicarePublic policySurgeons ePublished: 21 March 2006 Issue Published: 21 March 2006 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2006 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...