improved techniques and identify best practices, in coordination with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, for assisting chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients to successfully stop smoking, including identification of subpopulations with different needs. Initiatives under this paragraph may include research to determine whether successful smoking cessation strategies are different for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients compared to such strategies for patients with other chronic diseases. (e) Environmental and occupational health programs The Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shall— (1) support research into the environmental and occupational causes and biological mechanisms that contribute to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease