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It's a textbook “good news, bad news” story. But either way, it matters for workplace wellness.

The head of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control announced recently that “smoking is at an all-time low,” according to Medscape. However, “millions still remain at risk for entirely preventable deaths. Tobacco causes at least 12 different cancers as well as other health issues, and smokers who want to quit need help to do so.”

Said CDC Director Tom Frieden, MD, MPH: “Tobacco use continues to cause an enormous amount of disability and death from cancer; cancers linked to tobacco make up 40% of all cancers that are diagnosed in this country, and tobacco use will kill 6 million current smokers unless we implement programs to help them quit. Reducing tobacco use prevents cancer and prevents deaths and saves money.”

Helio reports that “Among the CDC’s recent findings: men have a higher rate of tobacco-related cancer deaths than women; blacks have a higher rate of tobacco-related cancer deaths than other race groups; the burden of tobacco-related cancers is worse in areas with high poverty levels and low levels of education; and approximately 1.3 million deaths from cancers linked to tobacco use have been prevented since 1990. In addition, tobacco use results in 480,000 deaths and more than $300 billion in productivity losses and direct health care expenditures each year, and it costs $1,000 less per year to care for an ex-smoker than a smoker.”

Lisa C. Richardson, MD, MPH, director, CDC’s Division of Cancer Prevention and Control, indicates that more work needs to be done at local levels: “When states invest in comprehensive cancer control programs — including tobacco control — we see greater benefits for everyone and fewer deaths from tobacco-related cancers. We have made progress, but our work is not done.”

As far as the good news, Medscape states: “Only about 15% of US adults smoked in 2015 — down from nearly 21% of adults who smoked a decade earlier.”

Said Dr. Frieden: “If you look at only the years 2009 and 2015, the number of adult cigarette smokers declined by 10 million. That's a remarkable number and it represents literally millions of people who will not develop cancer or die from it [because they quit].”