Most preventable health problems – including about half of all premature deaths – are caused by:

• tobacco use
• improper diet
• lack of physical activity
• alcohol misuse & illicit drug use
• unsafe sexual behavior
• motor vehicle crashes
• toxic agents
• firearm use

It's easy to see how important a role personal behavior plays in our health. By improving our personal health behaviors, we have the greatest potential to address the fundamental causes of health problems. Since 1900, the average life expectancy of Americans has gone from 45 to 75 years -- a 30 year increase. Public health, through such measures as sanitation, immunization, and education is responsible for about 25 of those years. Public health focuses on the community as a whole while the health care system deals with individual medical problems.