Tobacco addiction causes 438,000 deaths in the United States each year, making it the leading preventable cause of death. In addition, some 8.6 million Americans live with serious smoking-related illness. Of the 44.5 million current smokers, 70 percent say that they would like to quit. But without assistance, less than five percent are able to stop smoking. They need help from health professionals, whose advice serves as a powerful motivator.

The Smoking Cessation Leadership Center (SCLC) is a national program office of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Significant support is also provided by the American Legacy Foundation. SCLC aims to increase smoking cessation rates and increase the number of health professionals who help smokers quit. The Center creates partnerships for results with a variety of groups and institutions to develop and implement action plans around smoking cessation. Partnerships with dental hygienists, nurses, pharmacists, emergency physicians, hospitals, labor unions, family physicians, the Veterans Health Administration and myriad other groups all lead toward the same goal: saving lives by increasing cessation rates and cessation interventions.