Statement By Dr. Cheryl G. Healton, President and CEO, American Legacy Foundation(R) on the Loss of Esteemed Journalist Peter Jennings

Statement By Dr. Cheryl G. Healton, President and CEO, American Legacy Foundation(R) on the Loss of Esteemed Journalist Peter Jennings

WASHINGTON, Aug. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- The following is a statement by Dr. Cheryl G. Healton, President and CEO, American Legacy Foundation:

The American Legacy Foundation is deeply saddened by the news that ABC News anchor Peter Jennings has lost his struggle with lung cancer. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and colleagues as they join the tens of thousands of other families who have lost loved ones to lung cancer.

As the nation better understands the news about Mr. Jennings, we hope that people will seek out more information about lung cancer and the importance of early detection. Unfortunately, a lung cancer diagnosis often comes with a stigma -- a lack of sympathy from others or a thought that the victim brought the disease on him or herself by smoking. The fact remains that those who are victims of lung cancer are just that: victims. Many of them became addicted to nicotine in cigarettes and eventually became one of the more than 400,000 people each year who die from tobacco-related diseases.

We encourage Americans to consider the consequences of cigarette addiction and to sympathize with lung cancer victims as they undergo treatment and attempt to beat this difficult disease. New treatment and early diagnosis of lung cancer offer promise to others.

We know that most smokers -- 70 percent -- want to quit, but fewer than five percent succeed in quitting each year because nicotine is so powerfully addictive. We encourage smokers to talk with their doctors about screenings for lung cancer and about creating personalized plans to help them quit.

Lung cancer accounts for 28 percent of all cancer deaths in the United States,(i) and more Americans lose their lives to lung cancer annually than breast, prostate and colon cancers combined. More research and resources must be dedicated to prevent and ultimately find a cure for this crippling disease.

It is also important to know that smoking-related trachea, lung and bronchus cancers together claim the lives of more than 153,000 men and women annually in the U.S., and smoking is by far the most frequent cause of lung cancer.(ii) Quitting smoking does not eliminate the risk of getting the disease, but it does significantly reduce the risk.

The American Legacy Foundation joins our colleagues in the tobacco control and public health communities in remembering Peter Jennings for his enormous contributions to his craft and most notably, his coverage of tobacco on ABC's World News Tonight and in the prime time special From the Tobacco Files. He will be deeply missed.

The American Legacy Foundation(R) is dedicated to building a world where young people reject tobacco and anyone can quit. Located in Washington, D.C., the foundation develops programs that address the health effects of tobacco use through grants, technical assistance and training, research, youth activism, strategic partnerships, counter-marketing and grassroots marketing campaigns, public relations, and outreach to populations disproportionately affected by the toll of tobacco. The foundation's national programs include Circle of Friends(R), Great Start(R), a Priority Populations Initiative, Streetheory(R) and truth(R). The American Legacy Foundation was created as a result of the November 1998 Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) reached between attorneys general from 46 states, five US territories, and the tobacco industry. Visit http://www.americanlegacy.org/.

(i) CDC. The Health Consequences of Smoking: A Report of the Surgeon
General. 2004.

(ii) CDC. Annual smoking-attributable mortality, years of potential life
lost, and productivity losses-United States, 1997-2001. MMWR 2005;
54: 626-628.

Source: American Legacy Foundation

CONTACT: Julia Cartwright of the American Legacy Foundation,
+1-202-454-5596

Web site: http://www.americanlegacy.org/

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