Smoking Statistics

Tobacco use remains the leading preventable cause of death in the United States, causing more than 400,000 deaths each year and resulting in an annual cost of more than $50 billion in direct medical costs.

Each year, smoking kills more people than AIDS, alcohol, drug abuse, car crashes, murders, suicides, and fires - combined!

Nationally, smoking results in more than 5 million years of potential life lost each year.

Approximately 80% of adult smokers started smoking before the age of 18. Every day, nearly 3,000 young people under the age of 18 become regular smokers.

More than 5 million children living today will die prematurely because of a decision they will make as adolescents - the decision to smoke cigarettes.

Tobacco and Personal Appearance
Yuck! Tobacco smoke can make hair and clothes stink. Tobacco stains teeth and causes bad breath.
Short-term use of spit tobacco can cause cracked lips, white spots, sores, and bleeding in the mouth.
Surgery to remove oral cancers caused by tobacco use can lead to serious changes in the face. Sean Marcee, a high school star athlete who used spit tobacco, died of oral cancer when he was 19 years old.

S0. . .
Know the truth. Despite all the tobacco use on TV and in movies, music videos, billboards and magazines---most teens, adults, and athletes DON'T use tobacco. Make friends, develop athletic skills, control weight, be independent, be cool..... play sports. Don't waste (burn) money on tobacco. Spend it on CD's, clothes, computer games, and movies.

Get involved: make your team, school, and home tobacco-free; teach others; join community efforts to prevent tobacco use.

For more information visit the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion at www.cdc.gov.