The 2009 Chief Medical Officer of Health annual report discusses both the medical and economic case for focusing public health resources on prevention. Every year in Canada, more than two-thirds of all deaths result from chronic diseases and they are often preventable. Cardiovascular disease, cancer, type 2 diabetes and respiratory diseases all share the same common preventable risk factors – physical inactivity, unhealthy diet and tobacco use. The total cost of illness, disability and death attributable to chronic diseases is estimated to be more than $80 billion annually.