Since Bill W., founder of AA died in 1970 7,800,000 alcoholics, drug addicts and mentally ill Americans have died from tobacco. That is 44% of all the deaths. The actual total is estimated at 15,600,000 Americans since 1970. Our federal and state governments still don't get it even with this death toll is continuing forever apparently at about 400,000 American deaths a year. Until this preventable tragedy is seen for what it is we can count on our politicians do the minimal investment this newest state report reveals. If the 1,200 daily tobacco deaths happened in a shocking event like 9/11 or an American earth quake or tornado then maybe our politicians would make tobacco prevention and control the priority it deserves. If this issue had he advocacy Mothers Against Drunk Driving has more would be done as victims of tobacco shriek their dissatisfaction with this pitiful government effort to prevent the deaths of this year's 400,000 Americans who will die from tobacco in 2009.

If the ALA truly wanted to enact more state smokefree workplace laws, the ALA would stop wasting its money and time urging US Congress to enact Philip Morris negotaited, agreed to and backed FDA tobacco legisalation that protects PM's Marlboro cigarette empire at the expense of public health (by preventing market competition by the far less hazardous smokefree tobacco/nicotine products). Several weeks ago, the ALA urged the FDA to ban nicotine inhalers called e-cigarettes, which would force hundreds of thousands of former smokers (who now use e-cigarettes) to go back to smoking cigarettes.