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Regular Session, 2014
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTI ON NO. 105
BY REPRESENTATIVE HOFFMANN
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTI ON
To commend the surgeon general of the United States upon the fiftieth anniversary of the
issuance of the Surgeon General's Report on Smoking and Health.
WHEREAS, on January 11, 1964, the first United States governmental report on the
negative consequences of smoking was released by then United States Surgeon General Dr.
Luther Terry; and
WHEREAS, the initial report and thirty subsequent reports released by the United
States surgeon general have increased the nation's understanding of the devastating health
and financial burdens caused by tobacco use; and
WHEREAS, tobacco use causes various types of cancer, heart disease, chronic
obstructive pulmonary disease, pregnancy complications, and a host of other diseases and
conditions; and
WHEREAS, as of January 2014, more than forty-three million adults of the United
States smoke, more than eight million of these adults live with a serious illness caused by
smoking, and more than four hundred forty thousand people of the United States die
prematurely each year as a result of tobacco use; and
WHEREAS, the Surgeon General's Report on Smoking and Health has opened the
way for a series of important public health initiatives aimed at reducing the burden of
tobacco use, including the addition of health warnings to cigarette packages, bans on
cigarette advertising in the broadcast media, and the removal of fruit flavoring that appeal
to children from cigarettes; and
WHEREAS, tobacco control policies and public health initiatives aimed at curbing
tobacco use contributed to a decrease in the prevalence of smoking by people of the United
States from forty-two percent in 1965, to eighteen percent in 2012; and ENROLLEDHCR NO. 105
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WHEREAS, tobacco use remains one of the most pressing public health concerns
of the United States and is the leading preventable cause of disease, disability, and death in
the United States; and
WHEREAS, as discussed in previous surgeon general reports, there are proven health
benefits for those who quit smoking; and
WHEREAS, just one year after quitting smoking, the risk of a heart attack drops
sharply and, within two to five years of quitting smoking, the risk of stroke falls to about the
same as a nonsmoker; and
WHEREAS, within five years of quitting smoking, the risks for cancers of the mouth,
throat, esophagus, and bladder drop by half and the risk for lung cancer drops by half within
ten years after quitting smoking; and
WHEREAS, upon the fiftieth anniversary of the issuance of the first Surgeon
General's Report on Smoking and Health, the Office of the United States Surgeon General
continues to work to increase awareness of the lessons learned and the progress that has
taken place during the last fifty years of tobacco control efforts.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
commend the surgeon general of the United States upon the fiftieth anniversary of the
issuance of the Surgeon General's Report on Smoking and Health.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a suitable copy of this Resolution be transmitted
to Acting Surgeon General Rear Admiral Boris D. Lushniak.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATI VES
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE