The American Lung Association develops annual reports on the State of the Air, State of Tobacco Control and State of Lung Cancer in the United States. These reports provide detailed information that reveals how the federal government and states are controlling tobacco and protecting their citizens from lung cancer and polluted air.
State of the Air
The American Lung Association works to clean up the air we breathe because air pollution harms our health and can threaten life itself. The American Lung Association’s “State of the Air” report is our annual national air quality “report card.” First published in 2000, the report has tracked a dramatic improvement in air quality thanks to the success of the Clean Air Act.
However, climate change threatens this progress, as demonstrated clearly in recent reports. The report not only provides grades for the most recent three-year period, readers can track changes in air pollution since the first report and see how their community’s air quality ranks nationally.
State of Tobacco Control
The “State of Tobacco Control” report is the American Lung Association’s signature annual report grading states and the federal government on key public policies that need to be implemented to prevent and reduce tobacco use, including vaping and exposure to secondhand smoke.
Originally launched in 2002, the report seeks to encourage the passage of strong public policies on tobacco and generate media and public attention to the need to prevent tobacco use, including vaping among our kids, and prevent the 480,000 lives lost to tobacco each year.
State of Lung Cancer
Lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer deaths among both women and men in the United States. "State of Lung Cancer" is the American Lung Association's report that shows how the toll of lung cancer varies by state.
The reports find that over the past 10 years, the five-year cancer survival rate increased 26%. However, examining lung cancer incidence, survival, stage at diagnosis, surgical treatment, lack of treatment and screening, this report finds that states must do more to protect their residents from lung cancer.
Page last updated: May 13, 2022
