Every year since its inception in 2003, the American Lung Association publishes its State of Tobacco Control report, in which all 50 states, the District of Columbia and the federal government are given letter grades from A to F in the following three areas of tobacco control:

• Tobacco Taxes -- States are graded according to where their state tax on cigarettes falls based on the collective average of all state cigarette taxes.

• Smoke-free Air -- States are graded on the types of facilities in their state that are protected by smoke-free air laws, including private workplaces, schools and restaurants. New with this year's report are the additions of bars and non-tribal casinos.

• Tobacco Prevention and Control Spending -- States are graded on the amount of funding put into play for tobacco prevention and control programs.

New with the 2008 report is a fourth category:

• Cessation Coverage -- The amount of smoking cessation support offered to citizens via services and treatments is now graded on a state-by-state basis.

Highlights from the 2008 report include:

• Hats Off to Iowa and Nebraska
  The American Lung Association's Smoke-Free Challenge, an initiative that began in 2006, asks states and localities to enact legislation banning smoking in all public places and workplaces by December 31, 2010. To date, just 23 states and the District of Columbia have met the challenge. 2008 saw two more states added to the roster: Iowa and Nebraska.

• San Francisco Bans Sales of Tobacco in Pharmacies
  Legislators passed a bill prohibiting sales of tobacco products in drug stores within the city of San Francisco. Tobacco giant, Philip Morris and pharmacy chain, Walgreens both filed injunction requests against this legislation but failed. The ordinance went into effect on October 1, 2008.

• Boston Bans Tobacco Sales on College Campuses
  Public health officials passed legislation that will prohibit tobacco sales on college campuses in the city of Boston. The legislation is scheduled to take effect in February, 2009.

• The Federal Government Needs to Improve...A Lot
  The U.S. government's report card is dismal and an embarrassment. The highest letter grade received was a D, for framework convention on tobacco control. Everything else graded, including FDA regulation of tobacco products, cessation coverage and cigarette tax, received an F grade.

Read the report and see how your state rates:

• State of Tobacco Control: 2008 -- The American Lung Association

Tobacco use is the single most preventable cause of death on the planet today, accounting for nearly 5 million deaths worldwide annually.

If you're still smoking, About.com has the tools and resources to help you quit and stay that way. Don't waste another minute of your precious life on a habit that will kill you, given the chance.

Quit now.

Resources to Help You Quit:

• Your Quit Smoking Toolbox

• Smoking Cessation Support Forum

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I'm Smoking What?! - The Chemicals in Cigarettes

As smokers, we don't think about the chemicals in cigarettes. We think about how cigarettes help us cope with the stress of daily life, how they calm us down when we're angry, help us relax at the end of a long day, comfort us when we're sad or lonely. Harmful chemicals in cigarettes? No, we don't think much about that.

The truth of the matter is that smoking does the opposite of just about everything we give it credit for. When the chemicals in cigarettes are inhaled, they put our bodies into a state of physical stress by sending literally thousands of poisons, toxic metals and carcinogens coursing through our bloodstream with every puff we take. And those chemicals affect everything from blood pressure and pulse rate to the health of our organs and immune system.

While researchers are still working to uncover all of the hazards cigarettes present to human life, we do know that air tainted with cigarette smoke is dangerous for anyone who breathes it -- smoker or not.

Let's take a closer look at some of the harmful chemicals in cigarettes and how they affect our health.

Harmful Chemicals in Cigarettes

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Take The Quit Smoking Monday Pledge

Healthy Monday encourages us to think of every Monday as a day that we can begin work anew on goals that we have for ourselves. If you're still smoking, put your cigarettes down and get started on your quit program today.

• Quit Smoking Monday Messages Archive

We all have the ability to quit smoking successfully, and we all deserve a life that is free of addiction. Honor your life by choosing Monday as the day to start and reinforce your quit program.

You can quit smoking ... and we’re here to help you, one simple Monday at a time.

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Researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital for Children (MGHfC) have coined a new term that describes yet another set of dangers associated with cigarette smoke: third-hand smoke. Study results published in the January, 2009 issue of the journal Pediatrics discuss how this new health hazard, third-hand smoke, is especially dangerous for children.

Related:

• How Secondhand Smoke Affects Children

• Secondhand Smoke at Home Threatens Children

• Carcinogens from Tobacco Smoke Found in Babies Urine

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Years of smoking taught us to react to literally everything by lighting a cigarette. When we were happy, we'd celebrate by lighting up. When we got angry, smoking would calm us down, or so we thought. Tired? Smoke a cigarette to stay awake. Hungry? Feed yourself a smoke. The list goes on.

Between the physical addiction to nicotine, and the mental associations that tie what seems like all of our activities to cigarettes, it can feel as though we're chained to the habit with links of steel.

POLL: What triggers the urge to smoke for you?

1) First thing in the morning with coffee
2) Alcohol
3) Other people smoking
4) Anger
5) Boredom
6) Fatigue
7) Depression
8) After meals

Tools to Help You Beat Smoking Cravings

• Secrets from Successful Quitters

• Nicotine Addiction: Myths vs. Facts

• 10 Tips to Manage Nicotine Withdrawal

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