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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 - 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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Smoking also increases the risk of many other types of cancer, including cancers of the throat, mouth, pancreas, kidney, bladder, and cervix.[1]
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People who smoke are up to six times more likely to suffer a heart attack than nonsmokers, and the risk increases with the number of cigarettes smoked. Smoking also causes most cases of chronic obstructive lung disease, which includes bronchitis and emphysema.[5]
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In 2007, approximately 19.8 percent of U.S. adults were cigarette smokers.[6]
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Twenty-three percent of high school students and 8 percent of middle school students in this country are current cigarette smokers.[7]
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In the United States, an estimated 8 percent of high school students are current smokeless tobacco users. An estimated 3 percent of middle school students in this country are current smokeless tobacco users.[8]
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