Contact: Beth Casteel, bcasteel@acc.org, 240-328-4549

WASHINGTON (Mar 12, 2015) -

American College of Cardiology President Patrick T. O’Gara, M.D., FACC, issued the following statement in response to the report released by the Institute of Medicine that finds benefits to raising the minimum age to purchase tobacco products:

“The report released today by the Institute of Medicine provides further evidence to support raising the minimum age to purchase tobacco products. Not smoking is one of the most important things people can do to protect their cardiovascular health, and preventing young people from starting in the first place is important to the future health of our nation. The decline in smoking is one of the biggest factors in the dramatic reduction of heart disease in the United States in recent decades. We want to continue this trend.”

The American College of Cardiology is a 49,000-member medical society that is the professional home for the entire cardiovascular care team. The mission of the College is to transform cardiovascular care and to improve heart health. The ACC leads in the formation of health policy, standards and guidelines. The College operates national registries to measure and improve care, provides professional medical education, disseminates cardiovascular research and bestows credentials upon cardiovascular specialists who meet stringent qualifications. For more information, visit acc.org.

< Back to Listings