dr. howard koh, who is our assistant secretary of health, from dr. tom frieden, the head of centers for disease control and prevention, and dr. boris lish any ak, who is the acting surgeon general. but they, again, are incredibly involved leaders in this whole process. now, we've made a lot of progress in the 50 years since the first surgeon general's report on smoking and health. we're still a country very much addicted to tobacco. this addiction, this epidemic has serious ramifications for our families, our communities, our overall health, and the health of our economy. so today, we're calling on all americans to join in a sustained effort to make the next generation a tobacco-free generation. our message to the american people is this. there are things that each of us can do in our own community. our own schools, our own businesses, that make actually a significant contribution to ending this epidemic. saving the lives of our loved ones, and making the next generation tobacco-free. i would invite you to think for just a moment about what the laws

dr. howard koh, our assistant secretary of health from dr. tom friedman and dr. boris who is the acting surgeon general. they, again, are incredibly involved leaders in this whole process. we have made a lot of progress in the 50 years since the first surgeon general report in smoking and health. we are still a country very much addicted to tobacco. this addiction, this epidemic has serious ramifications for our families, our communities, our overall health and the health of our economy. so, today, we are calling on all americans to join in a sustained effort to make the next generation a tobacco-free generation. our message to the american people is this, there are things each of us can do in our communities, our schools, our businesses that make a significant contribution to ending this epidemic, saving the lives of loved ones and making the next generation tobacco free. i would like you to think for a moment about what the loss of one life means to a family. what it means to a neighborhood. what it means to a community. year after year after year, tobacco use

dr. howard koh, the u.s. of department of health and human services. thank you so much for joining us on this historic day to honor the 50th anniversary of the surgeon general's report on smoking and health. to begin the program, it's my pleasure to introduce cecilia munoz, assistant to the president and director to the policy council. prior to this role, she served as deputy assistant to the president, and director of intergovernmental affairs at the white house. and before joining the obama administration, cecilia served as a community leader, as senior vice president at the national council of boraza, the largest latino civil rights organization. please join me in welcomie inin cecilia munoz. [ applause ] >> thank you so

dr. howard koh, who is our assistant secretary of health, from dr. tom frieden, the head of centers for disease control and prevention, and dr. boris lish any ak, who is the acting surgeon general. but they, again, are incredibly involved leaders in this whole process. now, we've made a lot of progress in the 50 years since the first surgeon general's report on smoking and health. we're still a country very much addicted to tobacco. this addiction, this epidemic has serious ramifications for our families, our communities, our overall health, and the health of our economy. so today, we're calling on all americans to join in a sustained effort to make the next generation a tobacco-free generation. our message to the american people is this. there are things that each of us can do in our own community. our own schools, our own businesses, that make actually a significant contribution to ending this epidemic. saving the lives of our loved ones, and making the next generation tobacco-free. i would invite you to think for just a moment about what the laws