Roy S. Herbst, MD, Professor of Medicine and Chief of Medical Oncology, Yale Comprehensive Cancer Center, serves as the Chairperson of the AACR Task Force on Tobacco and Cancer. At the 4th Annual Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities, he said that the evidence against tobacco use is clear, incontrovertible, and convincing, as is the urgent need for immediate action. The task force recommends:

• Investment in tobacco-related research, especially potential harms
• Prevention of initiation of tobacco use in youth
• Evidence-based treatments for tobacco cessation
• Effective public communication to prevent, reduce, and eliminate tobacco use
• Reduction of disparities in tobacco use across social groups and in developing countries
• Monitoring of tobacco products, use, and tobacco-related disease
• Science-based regulatory framework to evaluate tobacco products
• Domestic and international economic policies that support tobacco control
• U.S. ratification of the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention for Tobacco Control
• Deterrence of tobacco industry efforts to encourage tobacco use ■