Except for smoking, obesity is now the number one preventable cause of death in this country. Three hundred thousand people die of obesity every year,

The health care industry can play a great role in this by being aware of the fact that these children form perhaps the most neglected group of people in the country, largely because it is hard to find them.

The real risk factors are things like diet, smoking, obesity and high blood pressure. Hormone replacement therapy is a teeny-tiny risk. It makes no sense for someone who weighs 250 pounds and smokes to say she doesn't want to take HRT because it will give her a heart attack.

The Carnegie Foundation is well aware of the fact that their reports frequently find their way to dusty archives in academic institutions, but occasionally people pick up a segment of a report and act upon it.

That is why we are working with these various groups that have volunteers. We can get a lot of these things done. Nobody has dropped out, and a lot of people would like to join. We now know what each other does.

The Action Plan provides a blue print for getting proven cessation treatment to literally every smoker in America who wants to quit. This can have enormous benefit for everyone-adding years of life for former smokers and reducing healthcare costs for all Americans. Making the tobacco companies pay for this is only proper.