According to health officials, the U. S. government is using social media and other materials to educate the public about new Tobacco Control Act regulations.

Dr. Thomas R. Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, said in a statement, "Tobacco use is the single largest preventable cause of death, killing 443,000 Americans every year and costing $193 billion in annual direct medical costs and lost productivity."

He further added, "The amount states spend on tobacco prevention programs pales in comparison to the $12.8 billion a year the tobacco companies spend to market their deadly products, including to young people. Each day, about 1,000 young people under age 18 become smokers."

The Tobacco Control Act includes, provisions that prohibit the advertising or manufacture of tobacco products with the descriptors "light," "low," or "mild," or similar descriptors, without an order from U. S. Food and Drug Administration, FDA rules that limit the sale, distribution, and marketing of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco to children and adolescents and requirements for new, larger health warnings on smokeless tobacco packaging and advertisements. (With inputs from Agencies)