Opinion

As a physician, I know we need to focus on helping the forgotten smoker

Former HHS secretary says FDA must give clinicians clear guidance on smoke-free alternatives

By Dr. Tom Price Fox News

Published June 1, 2026 5:00am EDT

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As a physician, former member of Congress, and former secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I have spent much of my career focused on policies that improve health outcomes. I have also seen the toll of smoking up close. I lost my father to what I often call "Lucky Strike lungs." That experience has stayed with me — and it underscores a simple fact: smoking remains one of the nation’s most serious and persistent public health challenges.

Yet in Washington, there is a growing habit of talking about smoking as if it were yesterday’s problem. It is not. Roughly 25 million American adults still smoke cigarettes, and far too many have been left out of the public health conversation. That is the central message of "The Forgotten Smoker," a new white paper from Philip Morris International U.S. (PMI U.S.) that urges policymakers to confront a reality they too often overlook: progress has stalled for millions of Americans still at greatest risk.

From a physician’s perspective, these Americans are not abstractions. They are patients, parents,........

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