Madeleine Solomon, director of Policy and Community Programs for the Tobacco Technical Assistance Consortium (TTAC) at Emory's Rollins School of Public Health, was selected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as an expert voice to commemorate the 50th Anniversary Surgeon General's Report on Smoking and Health.

The 50th Anniversary Surgeon General's Report highlights 50 years of progress in tobacco control and prevention, presents new data on the health consequences of smoking, and discusses opportunities that can potentially end the smoking epidemic in the United States. 

Along with the report, CDC released a new video and podcast series, titled "Reflecting on 50 Years of Progress." The series features interviews from key leaders in the fight against tobacco and information about the progress made over the past 50 years.  In the video, Changing Social Norms to Reduce the Acceptability of Smoking, Solomon shares personal experiences from her recollection of her mother's decorative music box that presented cigarettes to houseguests in the 1950s to the excitement she felt when her hometown of Chicago passed a policy to protect residents from secondhand smoke. 

"I am extremely honored to participate in this video series," explains Solomon. "I hope that the stories my colleagues and I share will help shed light on the social and policy changes that have reduced the acceptability of smoking as well as outline what it will take to achieve a society free of tobacco-related death and disease."

Solomon is known for her expertise in policy development and for inspiring and empowering people to create healthier states and communities. During her decades of public health work and now in her role at TTAC at Emory, she has trained public health advocates in 42 states and as far away as China. 

"Despite significant progress since the first Surgeon General's report, issued 50 years ago, smoking remains the single largest cause of preventable disease and death in the United States," explains Solomon. "We know what works in tobacco control. In order to eliminate the toll of tobacco on our country in the next 50 years, we must continue to dedicate resources and support in states and communities to help smokers quit and prevent the next generation of smokers from ever starting."