At a time of increased tobacco taxes and as the City of Buffalo considers a new law constraining cigarette retail sales and marketing, we should remember that cigarettes are the greatest single cause of premature death and disability in the United States. About one in two smokers will die early, often with great suffering from chronic obstructive lung disease, cancer, heart disease, stroke or other diseases.

How are we doing in our area with respect to reducing cigarette use? Not well. According to the New York State Department of Health, 25.5 percent of adults 18 and over in Erie County are smokers. This is the same percentage of smokers in the entire country 20 years ago. There are counties in New York where only 10 percent of adults are smokers. Doing two to three times worse than elsewhere in our state is not a distinction we should settle for. How can we progress to only one in 10 adults smoking rather than one in four?

Public health measures to reduce tobacco use have worked. We have not failed because of lack of effort or knowledge. Experts at Roswell Park Cancer Institute and the University at Buffalo are world leaders in this area.

Increasing the cost of cigarettes helps people stop smoking; however, we are challenged by living in a region that provides easy access to lower-cost cigarettes. Also, cigarette taxes need to fund public-service announcements and other tobacco-control efforts to motivate attempts to quit, support the New York State Smokers’ Quit Line and discourage new smokers.

New York State Commissioner of Health Richard F. Daines understands the need to raise cigarette taxes; he has also noted that the U. S. Food and Drug Administration has been slow to implement a full range of tobacco-control measures to protect children.

Not surprisingly, the tobacco industry is fighting the new regulations. Buffalo’s efforts to curtail marketing would help us move ahead despite delays at the federal level.

Comprehensive programs are needed to counter the promotion of tobacco products. New York State’s program should be fully funded. The proposed changes in Buffalo are not about inconveniencing retailers, but about acting responsibly regarding a dangerous product. Tobacco use can be dealt with and many smokers welcome the support.

The City of Good Neighbors should be helping citizens quit or never start smoking in the first place. The Responsible Tobacco Retailing Act will help. Such extra measures are needed to help us become one of the lowest tobacco using regions in the state and benefit from a lower loss of life and lessened toll of suffering from cigarette-caused disease.

Lynn Kozlowski is dean and Gary Giovino is chairman of the Department of Health Behavior at the School of Public Health and Health Professions at the University at Buffalo. Both are national tobacco experts.