While the American medical community has been making strides in the diagnosis and treatment of disease, the American public also has become more aware of the relationship between disease and personal behavior. Since the U.S. surgeon general first warned Americans about the dangers of smoking in 1964, the percentage of Americans who smoke has declined from almost 50 percent to approximately 25 percent. Smoking is no longer permitted in most public buildings or on trains, buses, and airplanes traveling within the United States, and most American restaurants are divided into areas where smoking is permitted and those where it is not. Studies have linked a significant drop in the rate of lung cancer to a nationwide decline in cigarette smoking.

 

The federal government also encourages Americans to exercise regularly and to eat healthful diets, including large quantities of fruits and vegetables. More than 40 percent of Americans today exercise or play a sport as part of their regular routine. The per capita consumption of fruits and vegetables has increased by about 20 percent since 1970.

 

President George W. Bush believes Americans can do even better, and to that end he launched a national health and fitness initiative in 2002. The president encouraged Americans to adopt four "guideposts" for a healthy lifestyle: to exercise for 30 minutes every day; to eat a nutritious diet; to get preventative medical screenings; and to avoid smoking, drug use, and excessive alcohol consumption. At a White House event, at which he also introduced the new members of the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, Bush said, "We're making great progress in preventing and detecting and treating many chronic diseases, and that's good for America....Yet we can still improve....When America and Americans are healthier, our whole society benefits."