In 2007, the CDC updated its Best Practices for Comprehensive Tobacco Control Programs report, which details the elements of a successful state program. Oregon’s program includes all five of the recommended elements, which are:

  • Helping individuals make tobacco-free choices.
  • Countermarketing and effective messaging campaigns around tobacco-free choices.
  • Programs and tools to help individuals quit smoking.
  • Monitoring tobacco-related attitudes, behaviors and health outcomes.
  • Fiscal management and program oversight to ensure accountability and effectiveness.

According to the CDC, if all 50 states sustained their CDC-recommended levels of investment for five years, there would be an estimated 5 million fewer smokers in the United States. As a result, hundreds of thousands of premature, tobacco-related deaths would not occur.