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Health Department

Tobacco Prevention Program - Data


  • Each year 438,000 people die of tobacco related illness in the U.S., costing $167 billion in healthcare costs and lost productivity.
  • On average, men who smoke cut their lives short by 13.2 years, and female smokers lose 14.5 years.
  • Each day more than 4,000 kids under 18 try their first cigarette, and more than 1,500 other kids under 18 become established daily smokers.
  • In 2003, major cigarette companies spent $41 million a day marketing their deadly products.
  • Secondhand smoke costs the U.S. economy nearly $10 billion a year, ranging from medical bills to lost hours on the job.
  • The tobacco industry spend 25 times more marketing cigarettes than states did to prevent smoking and help smokers quit in 2003.

Data from the American Lung Association