Fast Facts Morbidity and Mortality (Related to Tobacco Use) Tobacco and Disease Tobacco use causes o Cancer o Heart disease o Lung diseases (including emphysema, bronchitis, and chronic airway obstruction) 1 Cigarette smoking increases the length of time that people live with a disability by about 2 years. 2 For every person who dies from a smoking-related disease, 20 more people suffer with at least one serious illness from smoking. 3 Tobacco and Death Worldwide Tobacco use causes more than 5 million deaths per year. 4 Current trends show that tobacco use will cause more than 8 million deaths annually by 2030. 4 On average, smokers die 13 to 14 years earlier than nonsmokers. 5 In the United States Cigarette smoking is the leading preventable cause of death. 5 Cigarette smoking is responsible for about one in five deaths annually, or about 443,000 deaths per year. 1 An estimated 49,000 of tobacco-related deaths are the result of secondhand smoke exposure. 1
Tobacco-Related Costs and Expenditure in the United States Costs of Smoking Annually, in the United States, cigarette smoking costs more than $193 billion: 1 $193 billion = $97 billion in lost productivity + $96 billion in health care expenditures Annually, in the United States, secondhand smoke costs more than $10 billion in health care expenditures. 6 State Spending on Tobacco Control States have billions of dollars available to them from tobacco excise taxes and tobacco industry legal settlements for preventing and controlling tobacco use. States currently use a very small percentage of these funds for tobacco control programs: $24.4 billion was available to states in 2008 from tobacco taxes and legal settlements 7,8 States spent less than 3% of the $24.4 billion in 2008 on tobacco control programs 7,8 Investing only 15% (i.e., $3.7 billion) of the $24.4 billion would have funded every state tobacco control program at CDC-recommended levels 7,8 Cigarette Industry Spending The cigarette industry spends billions each year on advertising and promotions: 9 $12.5 billion total spent in 2006 (latest available data) $34 million spent a day in 2006 (latest available data)
Tobacco Use in the United States Numbers of Smokers Millions of people in the United States smoke cigarettes. Current* Smokers 20.6% of U.S. adults (46 million people 18 years of age and older) 10 20.0% of high school students 11 36.4% of American Indian/Alaska Native adults 10 21.4% of white adults 10 19.8% of African American adults 10 13.3% of Hispanic adults 10 9.6% of Asian American adults (excluding Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders) 10 *Current smokers are defined as persons who reported smoking at least 100 cigarettes during their lifetime and who, at the time of interview, reported smoking every day or some days. Starting to Smoke Thousands of young people and adults begin smoking every day: Each day, about 1,000 persons younger than 18 years of age become regular smokers (i.e., begin smoking on a daily basis). 12 Each day approximately 1,800 adults 18 years of age and older become daily smokers (i.e., begin smoking on a daily basis). 13 Quitting Many adult smokers want or try to quit smoking: Approximately 70% of smokers want to quit completely. 14 Approximately 40% of smokers try to quit each year. 10 Cessation treatments found to be effective include the following: 15,16 Brief clinical interventions Counseling Over-the-counter and prescription nicotine replacement products (e.g., nicotine gum, inhaler, nasal spray, lozenge, or patch) Prescription nonnicotine medications, such as bupropion SR (Zyban ) and varenicline tartrate (Chantix )
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13. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Results from the 2006 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (PDF 25 KB): (Office of Applied Studies, NSDUH Series H-32, DHHS Publication No. SMA 07 4293). Rockville, MD [accessed 2009 Mar 31]. 14. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Cigarette Smoking Among Adults United States, 2000. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report [serial online]. 2002;51:642 645 [accessed 2009 Mar 31]. 15. Fiore MC, Bailey WC, Cohen SJ, Dorfman SF, Goldstein MG, Gritz ER, et al. Treating Tobacco Use and Dependence: 2008 Update Clinical Practice Guidelines. Rockville (MD): U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, 2008 [accessed 2009 Feb 6]. 16. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The FDA Approves New Drug for Smoking Cessation. FDA Consumer; July August 2006 [accessed 2009 Feb 06].