Smoking's Devastating Health Impacts: Facts & Statistics

The evidence that links smoking tobacco and several diseases is overwhelming and undeniable. Smoking leads to poor physical well-being, decreased lung capacity, and diseases including COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), CAD (coronary artery disease) and various forms of cancer.

Death and Disease

• Smoking-related diseases kill an estimated 438,000 people a year. That figure is higher than AIDS, traffic accidents, fires, homicides, illegal drugs and suicides combined. Smoking-related deaths are the most preventable cause of premature death in the U.S. Also, for each smoking-related death there are 20 people affected with a serious smoking-related illness.

Cigarettes

• Cigarette smoke contains over 4,800 chemicals. Sixty-nine of these chemicals are known to be carcinogenic (cancer causing). One chemical is nicotine--a substance found to be more addictive than heroin--which is used commercially in insecticides. Another chemical is formaldehyde, which is used to preserve human tissue.

Second-hand Smoke

• Not only do smokers damage their own lungs and increase their chance of disease, they put those around them at risk for health problems. As much as 43 percent of children younger than 11 years old are exposed to second-hand smoke at home. Second-hand smoke is the cause of nearly 40,000 cardiovascular disease-related deaths each year.