Prevention and Early Detection

ACS CAN advocates for public policies that can prevent nearly half of all cancer deaths by ensuring access to recommended cancer screenings, protecting the public from skin cancer risk, reducing tobacco use and exposure to secondhand smoke and supporting people in increasing physical activity, eating a healthy diet, and managing their weight.

Prevention and Early Detection Resources:

The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) is focused on public policies that help to create healthy social and physical environments and to provide consumers with clear, useful information that fosters healthy lifestyle choices. 

ACS and ACS CAN submitted comments and recommendations regarding the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health, planned to be held in September 2022. 

The undersigned organizations write to express our concern that FDA has yet to issue any decisions on applications for marketing orders for menthol-flavored e-cigarettes or e-liquid products. We believe granting any such orders would be inconsistent with the agency’s marketing denial orders for other non-tobacco flavored products and would be harmful to public health, particularly to the health of young people.

For 30 years, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program has decreased disparities in breast and cervical cancer deaths.

While overall smoking rates have declined in recent years, smoking rates remain higher among specific subpopulations, including the LGBTQ+ community. These differences are in large part due to the tobacco industry’s targeted marketing through advertising, price discounting and other strategies.

While overall smoking rates have declined in recent years, smoking rates remain higher among specific subpopulations, including African Americans. These differences are in large part due to the tobacco industry’s targeted marketing through advertising, price discounting and other strategies.

Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer and the second-leading cause of cancer death in women. Breast cancer screening is an effective way of reducing breast cancer mortality and increasing survival odds. 

In the U.S., colorectal cancer is the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths in men and in women, and the second most common cause of cancer deaths when men and women are combined. Despite advancements in screening and treatment, CRC does not affect every community the same. 

Current federal law provides life-saving coverage of cancer prevention and early detection services and programs.  These provisions are crucial to reducing the incidence and impact of cancer in the United States.  They are also crucial in helping cancer survivors remain cancer-free and lead healthy lives.

Tobacco Resources:

The U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), U.S. Surgeon General, and Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have all declared youth e-cigarette use to be an epidemic. E-cigarettes are the most used tobacco product among youth and, like any tobacco product, are unsafe. E-cigarette use is also most common among younger adults. Action is urgently needed to reverse these dangerous trends.

The undersigned organizations write to express our concern that FDA has yet to issue any decisions on applications for marketing orders for menthol-flavored e-cigarettes or e-liquid products. We believe granting any such orders would be inconsistent with the agency’s marketing denial orders for other non-tobacco flavored products and would be harmful to public health, particularly to the health of young people.

While overall smoking rates have declined in recent years, smoking rates remain higher among specific subpopulations, including the LGBTQ+ community. These differences are in large part due to the tobacco industry’s targeted marketing through advertising, price discounting and other strategies.

While overall smoking rates have declined in recent years, smoking rates remain higher among specific subpopulations, including African Americans. These differences are in large part due to the tobacco industry’s targeted marketing through advertising, price discounting and other strategies.

High rates of menthol cigarette use is the result of deliberate actions by the tobacco industry to target certain populations. Decades of tobacco industry documents show how the tobacco industry targeted Black Americans, as well as LGBTQ+ and low-income communities with menthol cigarettes.

Cigars are tobacco wrapped in tobacco leaf or wrapped in a substance containing tobacco leaf. They can come in all shapes and sizes. One study found that the sales of cigarillos - which comprise most cigar sales - increased from 2016 to 2020 while their prices decreased. Lower prices can make tobacco products more attractive to youth because they are price sensitive. The study also found a significant increase in the sales of certain flavored cigarillos and large cigars.

Among adults who currently smoke cigars, those who used flavored products were more likely to be non-Hispanic Black individuals, younger, and have lower household incomes.

Flavors are a marketing ploy tobacco manufacturers use to target youth and young people to a lifetime of addiction. Adding flavors can improve the ease of use of a product by masking harsh effects, facilitating nicotine uptake, and increasing a product’s overall appeal.

This factsheet provides highlights of key studies demonstrating that flavored tobacco product sales restrictions can reduce tobacco product availability, sales, retailer advertising, and use rates. Equally important, the enforcement of these policies is critical to their effectiveness.

This factsheet provides an overview of key activities by the FDA on menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars.

Tanning and Sun Safety Resources:

The greatest avoidable known risk factor for skin cancer is the use of indoor tanning devices. Yet, each year, approximately nine million Americans engage in indoor tanning.The desire for a tanned appearance causes many people, especially young adults and teenagers, to ignore the serious risks and health warnings and use indoor tanning devices.

Despite reputable scientific studies showing that tanning devices can cause skin cancer, misconceptions about the risks and dangers of indoor tanning persist. This is due, in part, to misleading advertising and health claims by the tanning industry. This fact sheet debunks many of the most egregious industry claims about indoor tanning.

The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) advocates for public policies that will help reduce the risk of skin cancer associated with the use of indoor tanning devices.

Skin cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in the United States, and rates have been rising for the past 30 years.This factsheet discusses the types of skin cancer, risk factors for the disease, and how it can be prevented.  

Screening Resources:

For 30 years, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program has decreased disparities in breast and cervical cancer deaths.

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in Black men. Black men are over twice as likely to die from prostate cancer compared to every other racial and ethnic group and they are also more likely to be diagnosed at an advanced stage. Black men with lower-grade (less aggressive) disease are actually more likely to die from prostate cancer than white men. The reasons for this are complex and include interactions between social, behavioral and biological factors.

 

An estimated 151,030 men and women will be diagnosed with colorectal cancer in 2022 and 52,580 individuals are estimated to die from the disease. Without a continued, dedicated federal investment in colorectal cancer prevention and early detection, the U.S. could experience a reduction in screening leading to increases in completely preventable colorectal cancer cases and deaths. This factsheet discusses the importance of continued funding for the Colorectal Cancer Control Program (CRCCP).

Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer in men and women and the second leading cause of cancer death in men and women combined in the United States. Yet, about 1 in 3 adults aged 50 to 75 are not getting tested as recommended. This factsheet discusses the importance of screening for colorectal cancer and what can be done to improve screening in the U.S.

 

In the U.S., colorectal cancer is the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths in men and in women, and the second most common cause of cancer deaths when men and women are combined. Despite advancements in screening and treatment, CRC does not affect every community the same. 

This factsheet reviews recommended guidelines and insurance coverge for lung cancer screening.

If detected early, cervical cancer is one of the most successfully treatable cancers. Incidence and mortality rates of cervical cancer have declined by over 50 percent in the past 40 years, largely due to improved screening and early detection. However, the rate of decline has slowed in recent years. Efforts to reduce barriers to screening could greatly improve cervical cancer screening rates, particularly for disparate populations.

Healthy Eating and Active Living Resources:

The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) is focused on public policies that help to create healthy social and physical environments and to provide consumers with clear, useful information that fosters healthy lifestyle choices. 

ACS and ACS CAN submitted comments and recommendations regarding the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health, planned to be held in September 2022.