Showing papers by "Richard A. Brown published in 1982"

Current Trends in the Modification of Cigarette Dependence

Abstract: Cigarette smoking is the largest preventable cause of death in the United States. Each year, there are 80,000 deaths from lung cancer, 22,000 deaths from other cancers, up to 225,000 deaths from cardiovascular disease, and more than 19,000 deaths from pulmonary disease, all causally related to cigarette smoking. A 30-to 35-year-old two-pack-a-day smoker has a mortality rate twice that of a nonsmoker. The annual cost of health damage resulting from smoking is estimated to be $27 billion in medical care, absenteeism, decreased work productivity, and accidents. Compared with nonsmokers, smokers compile 81 million excess days of lost work each year and 145 million excess days of disability. These facts, compiled by the U.S. Surgeon General (U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, 1979), but also applicable to most Western nations, provide powerful reasons for the development and delivery of effective and economical smoking-control programs.