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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
Office on Smoking and Health
Tel: 1-800-CDC-INFO
(1-800-232-4636)
TTY: 1-888-232-6348
E-mail: tobaccoinfo@cdc.gov
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Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Reports (MMWRs)
Smoking-Attributable Mortality, Years of Potential Life Lost,
and Productivity Losses—United States, 2000–2004
November 14, 2008 / Vol. 57 / No. 45
MMWR Highlights
Smoking-Attributable Mortality
- During 2000–2004 approximately 443,000 people in the United States
died prematurely from cigarette smoking or exposure to secondhand smoke.
- This figure is higher than the average annual estimate of approximately 438,000
deaths during 1997–2001 and is predominantly due to population growth. Although deaths from
cigarette smoking have not increased significantly they remain high.
- Among adults, 160,848 (41%) of deaths were attributed to cancer, 128,497 (32.7%)
to cardiovascular diseases, and 103,338 (26.3%) to respiratory diseases.
- The three leading specific causes of smoking-attributable death were lung cancer at
128,922, ischemic heart disease at 126,005, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) at 92,915.
- An estimated 49,400 lung cancer and heart disease deaths annually were attributable
to exposure to secondhand smoke.
- Smoking resulted in an estimated annual average of 270,000 deaths among males and
174,000 among females in the United States.
- For females, smoking during pregnancy resulted in an estimated 776 infant deaths
annually during 2000–2004.
- The average annual smoking-attributable mortality estimates also include 736 deaths
from residential fires caused by smoking.
Years of Potential Life Lost
- On average, during 2000–2004 smoking accounted for an estimated 3.1 million
years of potential life lost for males and 2 million years of potential life lost for females annually, excluding deaths from
residential fires and adult deaths from secondhand smoke.
Productivity Losses and Health Care Expenditures
- During 2000–2004 estimates for average annual smoking-attributable productivity
losses were approximately $97 billion ($64.2 billion for men and $32.6 billion for women) during
this period.
- During 2001–2004 average annual smoking-attributable health care expenditures
were approximately $96 billion.
- Accounting for direct health care expenditures ($96 billion) and productivity losses
($97 billion), the total economic burden of smoking is approximately $193 billion per year.
- In contrast, investments in comprehensive, state-based tobacco prevention and
control programs in fiscal year 2007 were approximately 325-fold smaller.
- Because investments in evidence-based prevention programs have produced larger
and faster reductions in cigarette consumption, increased state investments to the levels recommended
by CDC are needed to achieve greater health impacts.
Page last modified 11/14/2008