-
Tobacco use
remains the single largest preventable cause of disease and
premature death in the United States.i
-
For every person
who dies from a smoking-related disease, 20 more people suffer
with at least one serious illness from smoking.ii
-
In the U.S.,
tobacco use is responsible for nearly 1 in 5 deaths, or about
443,000 premature deaths each year.i
-
On average,
smokers die 13 to 14 years earlier than nonsmokers.iii
-
The risk of
developing lung cancer is about 23 times higher in male smokers
and 13 times higher in female smokers, compared with lifelong
nonsmokers.i
-
Tobacco use
increases the risk of myeloid leukemia and cancers of the lung,
mouth, nasal cavities, larynx, throat, esophagus, stomach,
colorectum, liver, pancreas, kidney, bladder, uterine cervix and
ovaries.i
-
Tobacco use
accounts for at least 30 percent of all cancer deaths and 80
percent of lung cancer deaths.i
-
Thousands of young
people begin smoking every day.iv
-
Each day, more
than 3,800 people younger than 18 smoke their first cigarette.
-
Each day, about
1,000 people younger than 18 begin smoking on a daily basis.
-
Cigars contain
many of the same carcinogens found in cigarettes. Cigar smoking
increases the risk of cancers of the lung, mouth, throat,
larynx, esophagus and probably the pancreas.i
-
Sales of little
cigars increased by 240 percent from 1993 to 2007.i
-
Smokeless tobacco
products are a major source of cancer-causing nitrosamines
(chemical compounds) and a known cause of human cancer. They
increase the risk of developing cancer of the mouth and throat,
esophagus, and pancreas.i
-
Sales of smokeless tobacco products are
growing at a more rapid pace than cigarettes. While sales of
cigarettes declined by 42 percent between 1990 and 2006, per
capita sales of smokeless products in the U.S. nearly doubled.i
Global tobacco use
-
In 2011, tobacco
use killed almost 6 million people, with 80 percent of these
deaths occurring in low- and middle-income countries,i and
current trends show that tobacco use will cause more than 8
million deaths annually by 2030.v
-
43 trillion
cigarettes have been smoked in the last decade.vi
-
Smoking rates are increasing among
women, particularly young women, in many countries. Women and
children account for 75 percent of the deaths caused by
secondhand smoke.vi
Costs and expenditures
-
Cigarette smoking
costs the United States more than $193 billion (i.e., $97
billion in lost productivity, plus $96 billion in health care
expenditures).vii
-
Secondhand smoke
costs United States more than $10 billion (i.e., health care
expenditures, morbidity and mortality).viii
-
The tobacco industry receives annual
profits of almost $6,000 per death caused by tobacco.vi
[to top of second column] |
Smoking cessation
-
People who quit,
at any age, live longer than people who continue to smoke.i
-
Smokers who quit
before age 50 cut their risk of dying in the next 15 years in
half, compared with those who continue to smoke.i
-
Large disparities
in smoking prevalence and cessation continue to exist. Smokers
with an undergraduate or graduate degree are more likely to quit
than those with less formal education.i
-
Many adult smokers
want to quit smoking.ix
Secondhand smoke
-
Secondhand smoke
contains more than 7,000 chemicals, at least 69 of which cause
cancer.i
-
Each year, about
3,400 nonsmoking adults die of lung cancer as a result of
breathing secondhand smoke.i
-
Secondhand smoke may cause coughing,
wheezing, chest tightness and reduced lung function in adult
nonsmokers.i
___
i
American Cancer Society. Cancer Facts & Figures 2012. Atlanta:
American Cancer Society; 2012.
ii Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention. Cigarette Smoking-Attributable
Morbidity—United States, 2000. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report
2003;52(35):842–4 [accessed 2012 Jun 7]).
iii Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention. Annual Smoking-Attributable
Mortality, Years of Potential Life Lost, and Productivity
Losses—United States, 1995–1999. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly
Report 2002;51(14):300–3 [accessed 2012 Jun 7].
iv Substance
Abuse and Mental Health Administration. Results from the 2010
National Survey on Drug Use and Health: National Findings Rockville
(MD): Office of Applied Studies [accessed 2012 Jun 7].
v World Health
Organization. WHO Report on the Global Tobacco Epidemic, 2009.
Geneva: World Health Organization, 2008 [accessed 2012 Jun 7].
vi Eriksen M,
Mackay J, Ross H. The Tobacco Atlas. Fourth Ed. Atlanta, GA:
American Cancer Society; New York, NY: World Lung Foundation; 2012.
Also available at
www.TobaccoAtlas.org.
vii Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention. Smoking-Attributable Mortality,
Years of Potential Life Lost, and Productivity Losses—United States,
2000–2004. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 2008;57(45):1226–8
[accessed 2012 Jun 7].
viiii
Behan DF, Eriksen MP, Lin Y.
Economic
Effects of Environmental Tobacco Smoke Report Schaumburg,
IL: Society of Actuaries; 2005 [accessed 2012 Jun 7].
ix Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention. Quitting Smoking Among Adults—United
States, 2001–2010. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report [serial
online] 2011;60(44):1513–19 [accessed 2012 Jun 7].
[Text from file received from the
American Cancer Society,
Illinois Division] |