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Tobacco is one of the strongest cancer-causing agents. Tobacco use is
associated with a number of different cancers, including lung cancer, as well
as with chronic lung diseases and cardiovascular diseases.[1]
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Cigarette smoking remains the leading preventable cause of death in the United States, causing an estimated 438,000 deaths - or about 1 out of every 5 deaths - each year.[2]
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In the United States, approximately 38,000 deaths each year are caused by exposure to secondhand smoke.[2]
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Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death among both men and women in the United States, with 90 percent of lung cancer deaths among men and approximately 80 percent of lung cancer deaths among women attributed to smoking.[3,4]
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In 2006, approximately 20.8 percent of U.S. adults were cigarette smokers, a figure that has not changed significantly since 2004.[5]
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Twenty-three percent of high school students in the United States are current cigarette smokers: 23 percent of females and 22.9 percent of males. Eight percent of middle school students in this country are current cigarette smokers, with females at 9 percent and males at 8 percent.[6]
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In the United States, an estimated 8 percent of high school students are current smokeless tobacco users, with smokeless tobacco use more common among males (13.6 percent) than among females (2.2 percent). An estimated 3 percent of middle school students in the United States are current smokeless tobacco users, with smokeless tobacco use more common among males (4 percent) than among females (2 percent).[7]
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