Primary prevention helps people choose healthy behaviors to lower their risk of getting cancer. It is an “upstream approach” – stopping cancer before it starts. Comprehensive Cancer Control (CCC) coalitions can work together in promoting primary prevention strategies. Below are links to ACS resources in priority primary prevention topic areas.
Tobacco Prevention and Control
American Cancer Society Statement on Electronic Cigarettes
This updated position statement replaces all previous ACS statements on e-cigarettes and guides the organization’s tobacco control and cessation efforts regarding these products.
Great American Smokeout Event Tools and Resources
The ACS Great American Smokeout is held on the third Thursday in November each year. Comprehensive Cancer Control Coalitions can combine their collective efforts around this annual event to convey a unified message to their state/tribe/territory about the importance of quitting smoking. Explore these resources for use in workplaces, health systems, and other places in your community. Additional Tobacco Cessation materials are available with a login that you can request.
ACS Cancer Action Network Tobacco Control
ACS CAN Tobacco Control. Tobacco products are projected to kill one billion people worldwide this century. The ACS Cancer Action Network continues to have enormous success in passing local, state, and federal laws that prevent children from smoking, help adults quit, and ensuring that the government uses its authority to regulate tobacco industry practices. Explore ACS CAN's Tobacco Control current activity to find ways that your coalition might collaborate on lifesaving policy issues such as smoke-free ordinances, tobacco taxes, tobacco product regulation, and prevention and cessation policies.
Vaccines That Prevent Cancer
ACS National HPV Vaccination Roundtable
The ACS National HPV Roundtable convenes, communicates with, and catalyzes, member organizations and the public to prevent HPV cancers and raise HPV vaccination rates.
HPV Vaccination Resources for Health Professionals
HPV Vaccination Resources for Health Professionals. Use these free materials to encourage vaccination uptake among your coalition’s provider populations.
ACS Recommendations for HPV Vaccine Use
ACS Recommendations for HPV Vaccine Use provides current recommendations for HPV vaccination.
Healthy Lifestyle Choices
ACS Guidelines for Nutrition and Physical Activity
ACS Guidelines for Nutrition and Physical Activity provide information about diet and physical activity.
ACS Infographic for Body Weight and Cancer Risk
ACS Infographic for Body Weight and Cancer Risk. This infographic illustrates the connection between body weight and cancer risk.
Healthy Eating, Active Living Videos
Healthy Eating Active Living Videos provide information on how healthy choices can impact your cancer risk.
Healthy Eating Recipes, Tips, and Tools
Find healthy eating tools such as a shopping list, food diary, recipes and other tips.
Stay Healthy Tips
Stay Healthy. ACS provides accurate and up-to-date content for you to share with both providers and the public on reducing the risk of cancer by making healthy choices like eating right, staying active and not smoking. Find topical information to share with your constituents via Facebook, Twitter, email, and printer-friendly PDFs.
Environmental Approaches
ACS Cancer Action Network Tips for Healthy Eating and Active Living
Healthy Eating and Active Living. The ACS Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) is working at the local, state and federal levels to advocate for legislation and regulations to make information more accessible for healthy choices, ensure healthy schools for our youth and build healthy communities for all.
Indoor Tanning Information
Indoor Tanning. ACS CAN is working in state legislatures across the country to prohibit teenagers and anyone under age 18 from using tanning beds, booths, and other indoor tanning devices.
Healthy Eating Recipes, Tips, and Tools
Tobacco Control. ACS CAN continues to have enormous success passing local, state and federal laws that prevent children from smoking, help adults quit, and ensure that the government uses its authority to regulate tobacco industry practices.
Resources for Health Professionals
Fact Sheets
Fact Sheets provide professionals with information and cancer risk facts for common cancers.
Indoor Tanning Information
The Cancer Infographics Gallery contains helpful infographics for cancer prevention.
Healthy Healthcare Toolkit - Updated!
Healthy Healthcare Toolkit. The American Cancer Society and Public Health Law Center have partnered to update the Healthy Healthcare Toolkit, which is designed to help organizations create healthier food environments with a special focus on hospital and healthcare settings.
Many of the approaches outlined in the toolkit can also be applied to food environments and to other types of organizational settings. The toolkit includes a step-by-step guide for developing healthy beverage policies and initiatives, evidence to make the case for reducing sugary drinks, information about artificial sweeteners, state-specific information for a handful of states, and more.