The Lancet: Winnable battles: what is next?
Editorial Board

“In 2010, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) initiated its Winnable Battles project. It selected six public health priorities of high concern — tobacco; nutrition, physical activity, obesity, and food safety; health-care-associated infections (HAIs); motor vehicle injuries; teenage pregnancy; and HIV in the USA. Clear targets for each area were set within the timeframe 2010-15 to improve the health and safety of the nation as quickly as possible for as many as possible. On Dec. 5, the CDC released the final report assessing the initiative. … [T]he challenges and obstacles listed in the report card, particularly emerging tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, deserve further attention in the future. … The report … provides a series of recommendations … The idea of Winnable Battles must be retained, and a clear and more ambitious plan is eagerly awaited under the new leadership of America’s most important public health agency” (12/17).