The health and economic costs of tobacco use in military and veteran populations are high. In 2007, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Department of Defense (DoD) requested that the Institute of Medicine (IOM) make recommendations on how to reduce tobacco initiation and encourage cessation in both military and veteran populations. In its 2009 report, Combating Tobacco in Military and Veteran Populations, the authoring committee concludes that to prevent tobacco initiation and encourage cessation, both DoD and VA should implement comprehensive tobacco-control programs.

Tobacco use is the single most preventable cause of death & disease. Implementing comprehensive tobacco control programs (TCP) produces substantial reductions in tobacco use. States should establish TCP that are comprehensive, sustainable, & accountable. This document draws upon best practicesÓ determined by analyses of State TCP. This best practicesÓ address nine components of comprehensive TCP: community programs to reduce tobacco use; chronic disease programs to reduce the burden of tobacco-related diseases; school programs; enforcement; statewide programs; cessation programs; counter-marketing; surveillance & evaluation; & administration & management.

"This user guide focuses on how comprehensive tobacco control programs can promote cessation through population-wide efforts."--Page 1.

This is the 11th IARC Handbook of Cancer Prevention, and the first in a series focusing on tobacco control. It reviews the scientific literature and evaluates the evidence on changes in the risk of cancer, coronary heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, abdominal aortic aneurysm, peripheral artery disease and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease observed following smoking cessation. It considers whether the risk of dying from or of developing these diseases decreases after smoking cessation, the time course of the change in risk and whether the risk returns to that of never-smokers? The review and evaluation presented in the Handbook goes on to identify relevant public health and research recommendations.