Tobacco use is related to about 80% to 90% of all lung cancers. Tobacco use accounts for up to 30% of all cancer-related deaths and 20% of all deaths in the United States. MD?Anderson is committed to ending tobacco use, motivated in large part by the daily suffering of our patients and their families.
Taking tobacco use to zero is our ultimate goal.
Learn about how MD Anderson's EndTobacco Program has advanced tobacco prevention and control strategies over the past 10 Years of EndTobacco.
The EndTobacco Program calls for an unprecedented and sustained institutional commitment to leadership, investment and collaboration to advance evidence-based tobacco control. We are targeting the tobacco epidemic through EndTobacco, with three major goals:
- Prevent initiation and reduce current use of tobacco products among youth and young adults
- Reduce exposure to secondhand smoke
- Increase access to and promote evidence-based interventions in tobacco treatment
Under the banner of EndTobacco, MD Anderson:
- Promotes public health actions that reduce tobacco related cancers
- Collaborates with leading organizations committed to ending tobacco as a public health priority
- Shares our multi-disciplinary expertise and our experience as researchers and practitioners
- Educates the public and health care professionals
- Extends research to make a measurable difference at a population level
- Accelerates translation of research findings to the real world
- Shares findings from our research, evidence-based programs and experiences
Core Programs
Comprehensive Programs
Eliminate Tobacco Use Initiative
Most people who smoke started before age 21. For young adults, the college environment is a time of growth and experimentation. It's also an opportunity to shift social norms around nicotine and tobacco use. Through the Eliminate Tobacco Use Initiative, we are working to tackle tobacco use by assisting institutions to create tobacco-free cultures through dedicated efforts across a range of domains: policy, prevention, research and cessation service delivery. The collaborative began in 2015 within the University of Texas System and included other Texas institutions and organizations. In 2018, the Eliminate Tobacco Use Initiative expanded nationally, including partners in Missouri, New Jersey and Virginia, and has a number of resources,
The Tobacco Cessation Clinic Enhancement Program
The Tobacco Cessation Clinic Enhancement Program (TCCEP) is a new comprehensive system change initiative for clinics by providing training and resources as support to clinicians and staff to help improve tobacco treatment services for their patients. The comprehensive actions in this program will include tobacco-free campus policy adoption and/or compliance efforts and prevention actions and training employees and providers in tobacco treatment best practices.
Tobacco Facts
103
Texas municipalities that are 100% smoke-free in public places
99%
of adult smokers in the U.S. begin smoking before age 26
490K
deaths per year in the U.S. from secondhand smoke
Publications, Abstracts, Posters and Presentations
Tobacco Control
1. Cofer J, Hurst AN, Winter T, et al. . Cancer Control. 2022;29. doi:10.1177/10732748221138713
2. Britton, M., Kakarla, S.N., Arora, S., Martinez Leal, I., Chen, T.A., Cofer, J., Sanchez, H., & Reitzel, L.R. (April 2024) . Health Behavior Research, 7: No. 2.
3. Truong, N., Carter, B., Nguyen, H., North, C., & Cofer, J. (March 2025). Society For Research On Nicotine & Tobacco 2025 Annual Meeting. Poster presented: A literature review of tobacco and cannabis co-use and cancer risk, including a nationwide assessment of cannabis legalization, and examination of co-use among young adults in Texas. New Orleans, LA.
4. Cofer, J., Steel, J. Thigpen, J. Tobacco Control in Texas. Texas HHSC Prevention Resource Providers Annual Meeting. Virtual. June 2021.
5. Cofer J, Hawk E., et. al. ; A Workshop. Population Health Roundtable, National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine; September 2019; Washington, DC.
Tobacco Control Policy
1. Cofer, J., Romo, J. (October 2024). Oral Presentation. Potential impact of e-cigarette taxes on college student quitting behaviors & effective public health pricing strategies. 2024 Healthier Texas Summit, Austin, TX.
2. Cofer J, Srinivasan K, Toliver M, Moreno M, Varghese S, Hawk E. Tobacco Free Hiring at Â鶹ӳ» MD Anderson Cancer Center. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine:10.1097/JOM.0000000000003485, July 11, 2025; DOI: 10.1097/JOM.0000000000003485
3. Cofer J, Rodas C. Texas Tobacco 21 oral presentation. American Public Health Association 2019 Annual Meeting & Expo, Philadelphia, PA (November 2019).
4. Cofer J, Rodas C, Bridger C. San Antonio Tobacco 21 Oral Panel Presentation. National Conference on Tobacco or Health, Minneapolis, MN (August 2019).
5. Cofer J, et al. San Antonio Tobacco 21 poster session. American Public Health Association 2018 Annual Meeting & Expo, San Diego, CA (November 2018).
Tobacco Control and Institutes of Higher Education
1. M Mackert, K Case, A Lazard, J Oh, JH Wagner, E Hawk, J Cofer, A Hurst, N Elerian & D Lakey (2018). Building a Health Communication Brand for University of Texas System Tobacco Control, Journal of American College Health, DOI: 10.1080/07448481.2018.1469504
2. Love, B., Coffman, R., Ghosh, C., Cofer, J., Hurst, A., Oestman, K., Aquino, M., Kriss, L., Shah, M., Dermid, G., Raber, M., Hawk, E., Walsh, M., & Rechis, R. (2024). . Prevention Science.
3. Cofer, J., Kuma, V., Walpert, L. (October 2024). Oral Presentation. Modernizing Tobacco- and Smokefree College Campus Policies. Clearing the Air Institute. Philadelphia, PA.
4. Chadwick, G., Cofer, J., Skinner, D. (July 2024). Oral Presentation. Integrating Tobacco Policy, Prevention, and Cessation into Higher Education Collegiate Recovery Programs to Advance Recovery-Readiness. 2024 Association of Recovery in Higher Education (ARHE/ARS/AAPG) Annual Conference, San Diego, CA.
5. Cofer, J., Hurst, A., Nguyen, H., Coleman, B. (October 2023). Oral Presentation. Strategies To Enhance Tobacco-free College Culture. 2023 Healthier Texas Summit. Austin, TX.
6. Cofer J., Chadwick G., Hurst A., Kakauridze I., Romero A. A Framework to a National Movement to Eliminate Tobacco Use On College Campuses. Eliminate Tobacco Use. Oral Panel Presentation. National Conference on Tobacco or Health, New Orleans, LA (August 2022).
7. Chow, S., Nguyen, H., Karn, S., Latimer, L., Cofer, J., Hurst, A., Winter, T., Lakey, D., Hawk, E., & Loukas, A. (June 2022). Texas College Students' Conflicting Cessation Beliefs and Behaviors during the Covid-19 Pandemic. Poster presentation at National Conference on Tobacco or Health (NCTOH), New Orleans, LA.
8. Cofer, J., Winter, T., Hurst, A., Elerian, N., Lakey, D., Hawk, E., A Framework for Institutions of Higher Education to Eliminate Tobacco Use. NASPA, Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education, Annual Conference, Virtual, March 19, 2022.
9. Chow, S., Cofer, J., Hurst, A., Latimer, L., Nguyen, H., Karn, S., Hawk, E., & Lakey, D., Texas college students' perception to seek tobacco treatment services: Survey results. Presented at the American Public Health Association meeting, Denver, CO. (October 2021)
10. Cofer J, Hawk E, Lakey D, Elerian N, Mackert M, Wagner J, Hurst A. Tobacco Free Colleges & Universities: UT System Eliminate Tobacco Use Initiative oralpresentation. American Public Health Association 2019 Annual Meeting & Expo, Philadelphia, PA (November 2019).
11. Cofer J, Hawk E, Hurst A, Mackert M, Wagner, J. Health Communication Solutions for Campus Tobacco Control: Case Study of the Eliminate Tobacco Use Initiative in Texas. National Conference on Health Communication, Marketing and Media, Atlanta, Ga. (August 2019).
12. Lakey D, Cofer J, Elerian N, Morrow J, Hurst A, Hawk E. Tobacco Free Colleges & Universities: UT System Eliminate Tobacco Use Initiative. National Conference on Tobacco or Health, Austin, TX (March 2017).
13. Cofer J, Hawk E, Lakey D, Elerian N, Morrow J, Hurst A. Tobacco Free Colleges & Universities: UT System Eliminate Tobacco Use Initiative. American Public Health Association 2016 Annual Meeting & Expo, Denver, CO (November 2016).
Tobacco Cessation/Treatment Services and Programs
1. Cofta-Woerpel L, Lam C, Reitzel LR, Wilson W, Karam-Hage M, Beneventi D, Cofer J, Baker E, Wetter DW, Cinciripini PM, Blalock J. . Cogent Medicine, 5(1):1430652 (2018).
2. Cofta-Woerpel, L, Lam C, Reitzel LR, Wilson W, Karam-Hage M, Beneventi D, Cofer J, Baker E, Wetter DW, Cinciripini PM, Blalock J. . In: Prime Archives in Medicine: 2nd Edition. Ed SE Adeniji. Vide Leaf: Hyderabad, India, 2020.
3. Hurst A, Karam-Hage M, Cofer J, Javaid M, Beneventi D, Blalock J, Winter T, Cinciripini PM, Hawk E. . Advances in Cancer Education and Quality Improvement. 2025; 1(1).
4. Javaid M, Cofer J, Garcia S, Blalock, J. Karam-Hage M. 2025 National Conference on Tobacco or Health. Poster presented: Linking Training and Continuous Education: Developing a Comprehensive Approach to Tobacco Treatment Training. Chicago, IL, United States of America.
5. Javaid M, Karam-Hage M, Quiroz J, Puga B, Gardiner H, Aquino, Garcia S, Cofer J. 2025 National Conference on Tobacco or Health. Panel presentation: Enhancing Tobacco Treatment within Community Health Centers through Systems Change. Chicago, IL, United States of America.
6. Javaid M, Garcia S, Blalock, J. Karam-Hage M, Cofer J. (March 2025) Society For Research On Nicotine & Tobacco 2025 Annual Meeting. Poster presented: Developing a Shared Community of Practice for Treating Tobacco Use Disorder. New Orleans, LA, United States of America.
7. Garcia S, Javaid M, Blalock J, Karam-Hage M, Cofer J. Healthier Texas Summit (October 2024). Poster presented: Leveraging iECHO Model to Enhance Tobacco Treatment Services in Healthcare. Austin, TX, United States of America.
8. Javaid M, Karam-Hage M, Quiroz J, Puga B, Gardiner H, Aquino, Garcia S, Cofer J. Healthier Texas Summit 2024. Poster presented: Enhancing Tobacco Treatment within Community Health Centers through Systems Change. Austin, TX, United States of America.
9. Winter, T., Blalock, J., Karam-Hage, M., Cofer, J., Hurst, A., Evans, M., Beneventi, D., Hawk, E., Community of practice: Network of providers to address tobacco and nicotine addiction across the globe, Poster Session. American Public Health Association National Meeting, Virtual, October 21, 2021.
10. Sheffer, C. E., Cofer, J., Hurst, A., Shumaker, T., Darville, A., McConaha, J., Short, E. Innovative Strategies for Training Tobacco Treatment Specialists. Poster presented at: National Conference on Tobacco or Health; 2019 Aug 27-29; Minneapolis, MN.
11. Lam CY, Reitzel LR, Blalock JA, Wilson WT, Karam-Hage M, Beneventi DM, Hurst A, Cofer J, Cinciripini PM. Disseminating a Tele-mentoring Tobacco Cessation Case Consultation and Provider Education Model to Community Mental Health Centers in Texas, National Conference on Tobacco or Health, Austin, TX (March 2017).
12. Cofta-Woerpel L, Lam CY, Reitzel LR, Blalock JA, Wilson WT, Karam-Hage M, Beneventi DM, Cofer J, Baker E, Wetter DW, Cinciripini PM. Disseminating a Tele-mentoring Tobacco Cessation Case Consultation and Provider Education Model to Community Mental Health Centers in Texas, American Public Health Association 2016 Annual Meeting & Expo, Denver, CO (November 2016).
Tobacco Prevention
1. Cofer, J., Johnson, S., Wallace, K., Kypriotakis, G., & Blalock, J.A. (2024, April). Leveraging Technology to Educate Adolescents on the Harms of Tobacco Products. Poster accepted for presentation at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Health Behavior, Savannah, GA.
2. Cofer, J., Hurst, A., Lee, E., & Sterling, K. (2024, April). Flavors, Tobacco, and (Mis)Perceptions, Oh My! Poster accepted for presentation at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Health Behavior, Savannah, GA.
3. Cofer, J., Johnson, S., Wallace, K., Blalock, J., Hawk, E. ASPIRE: Youth Tobacco Prevention. Presented at the American Public Health Association meeting, Denver, CO. (October 2021).
4. Cofer, J., Johnson, S. ASPIRE: Tobacco and Vaping Prevention in Schools. Texas Association of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance Annual Conference. Virtual. July 2021.
Tobacco Treatment Training
MD Anderson¡¯s Tobacco Treatment Training Program (TTTP) is the only accredited program in Texas, and one of only 15 in the nation.
More about TTTP