WASHINGTON – The soaring number of children killed by firearms has created an “urgent public health crisis” worthy of the response the government took to preventing cigarette smoking or car accidents, the nation’s top doctor said in a first-of-its-kind announcement Tuesday.

In an advisory, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy said gun violence demands a public health approach rather than the polarizing political response that has numbed Americans and public officials to enacting change, as gun violence became the leading cause of death in children. Prior public health campaigns provide a playbook for addressing the uniquely American problem of gun violence that kills nearly 50,000 people annually, he said.

“I want people to know this is a profound public health crisis, but it is a solvable public health crisis,” he told USA TODAY. “As a nation, we are not powerless. We can do something about it.”

Murthy’s approach involves a range of responses, including warning labels on firearms, as with other consumer products, reinstating the ban on assault weapons and laws on safe gun storage to reduce the risk of homicides and suicides. He also emphasized the increased need for mental health resources for victims of gun violence, including trauma-informed health care and school-based services.

The U.S. has already seen 235 mass shootings in 2024, according to the Gun Violence Archive, a nonprofit that tracks incidents involving four or more victims. Homicides and suicides, which don’t get as much coverage, drive the country’s death toll.

Murthy’s call for an immediate public health response comes after similar calls for intervention from the American Medical Association and the American Public Health Association, which have long identified gun violence a public health issue. But Murthy’s role as the nation’s top physician during two presidential administrations gives the declaration added weight.

Murthy has issued previous advisories for public health crises, including recent alerts about the dangers of social media and the loneliness epidemic. During the Obama administration, Murthy issued a crisis alert about e-cigarettes. Historically, surgeons general have issued warnings about pressing health issues. Murthy said he believes this advisory can drive broader public awareness about the toll of gun violence in America.

“A public health approach is really fundamentally about ensuring that we are defining clearly a problem and its impact on health,” he said, adding this requires using data to understand the extent of the problem and who is most affected.

What difference does an official warning make?

Murthy’s advisory draws from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s response to violence prevention, which begins with monitoring through data and research, looking at risks and requiring widespread adoption.

The advisory highlights interventions in communities and schools and mental health support, as well as safe and secure gun storage, background checks and effective gun removal policies. The advisory also explicitly calls for banning assault weapons and large-capacity magazines for civilian use, along with restrictions on carrying loaded firearms in public spaces, concealed and open carry and rules about using firearms in public.

The advisory calls for treating gun regulations like the U.S. does other consumer products, as it does motor vehicle standards, pesticide regulations and Food and Drug Administration approvals. Firearms do not have the same safety testing or safety features, including warning labels, as other products do.