How the National Lung Cancer Summit can shine a light on the cancer moonshot

Advocates convene Sunday for the annual National Lung Cancer Summit. The Lung Cancer Alliance gathers in Washington, D.C. and will participate in hands-on training to push forward health policy initiatives with the ultimate goal of ending lung cancer.

The 2016 summit takes place against the backdrop of a new White House Cancer Moonshot Task Force: an initiative to accelerate the process to treat and cure cancer. Truth Initiative, along with partners like the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, have encouraged the Administration to make cancer prevention – and particularly tobacco control as a cancer prevention strategy – a pillar of the Moonshot effort.

Smoking causes at least 15 types of cancer and 87 percent of lung cancer deaths. As we wrote to Vice President Joe Biden, we cannot win the fight against cancer without winning the fight against tobacco.

Key policies to further reduce cigarette smoking rates and cancer include increased tobacco taxes, expanding smoke-free air laws, effective and well-funded mass media campaigns, fully funding state and local tobacco prevention campaigns, end expanding access to effective tools to help smokers quit.