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Overview
Preventing oral cancer and other tobacco-related diseases is a high priority for the ADA. The Association is especially concerned about recent attempts to market smokeless tobacco as a healthier (or less harmful) alternative to cigarettes.
Whether smoked, chewed, or dipped, tobacco users are at least six times  more likely to develop oral cancer, a disease that progresses rapidly and can be deadly if not diagnosed and treated early. (In fact, almost 75 percent of oral (mouth) and pharyngeal (throat) cancers are attributed to tobacco use.) And that’s not all. Tobacco products are also associated with higher rates of tooth decay and gum disease, one of the leading causes of tooth loss in adults.
Ironically, many Americans believe that tobacco products are regulated for health and safety when, in fact, they are not . Over the years, the tobacco industry has used its enormous political influence to avoid even the most basic oversight of its products. As a result, tobacco use remains the number one cause of preventable disease and death in the United States.
- Federal regulatory authority. The ADA supports the federal regulation of tobacco products, including calls for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to be given the express authority to regulate nicotine as an addictive drug—and tobacco products as nicotine delivery devices.
- Advertising and marketing practices. The ADA supports efforts to ban or otherwise restrict the advertising and other marketing of tobacco products, including prohibitions against free product samplings, marketing to children and adolescents, and advertisements promoting spit tobacco as a healthier alternative to cigarettes (or as a legitimate smoking cessation technique).
- Retail sales. The ADA supports efforts to limit or otherwise discourage the retail purchase of tobacco products, including calls to levy substantial excise taxes on tobacco products; ban the sale of tobacco products through vending machines; impose age restrictions on the sale of tobacco products to minors; and mandate the licensure of tobacco product retailers.
- Recovery support. The ADA supports adding evidence-based treatments for nicotine addiction to all federally-funded health care programs.
- Public education. The ADA supports efforts—including the extensive use of media campaigns and the mandatory placement of warning labels on tobacco products—to educate the public about the many hazards of tobacco use.
- Training and technical assistance. The ADA supports calls for enhanced training and technical assistance to ensure clinicians have the latest knowledge, skills, and support systems to help patients overcome their nicotine addiction.
- Continued research. The ADA supports calls for additional controlled studies on the adverse health effects of tobacco use.
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Letters and Testimony
- February 15, 2007—Letter to Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-MA), expressing support for his efforts to make the federal regulation of tobacco products a priority during the first session of the 110th Congress | PDF file/107k
- March 16, 2005—Coalition letter to members of Congress, calling for action on several tobacco-related priorities during the first session of the 109th Congress | PDF file/95k
- February 24, 2005—Coalition letter to the President, calling on the Administration to send the international Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) to the United States Senate for immediate ratification | PDF file/25k
- January 21, 2005—Coalition letter to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, supporting the decision to cover evidence-based treatments for nicotine addiction under Medicare | PDF file/28k
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ADA Resources
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Additional Resources
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Contact Us
For additional information, please contact:
Federal Affairs
1111 14th Street NW, Suite 1100
Washington, DC 20005
202.898.2400
Fax: 202.898.2437
E-mail: govtpol@ada.org
State Government Affairs
ADA Chicago Headquarters
211 East Chicago Avenue
Chicago, IL 60611
312.440.2525
Fax: 312.440.3539
E-mail: govtpol@ada.org
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