4 Topic Commentaries

Knowledge of smoking risks may show little gain

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  Howard K. Koh, MD, MPH

  Public health leadership; tobacco control and cancer control

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  Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

  Public health practitioners knew for years that tobacco use causes cancer, but scientific knowledge alone had a minimal effect on smoking behavior.

  Source
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  Michael C. Fiore, MD, MPH, MBA

  Tobacco dependence treatment; general internal medicine

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  University of Wisconsin–Madison School of Medicine and Public Health

  Despite widespread knowledge regarding the risks of tobacco, 26% of adults in the United States continue to smoke.

  Source
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  Carla J. Berg, PhD, MBA, LP

  Behavioral science; tobacco control

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  Emory University Rollins School of Public Health

  Having knowledge alone doesn't mean you are going to act on it,

  Source
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  Robert Wm. Blum, MD, MPH, PhD

  Adolescent health; public health

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  Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

  Information doesn’t change behavior,” he says. “Ask anyone who smokes cigarettes. They have the information.

  Source