FACTS ABOUT SMOKING

"I Need a Cigarette.   Or, Not..."
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (www.cdc.gov/tobacco):

• $89 Billion:  Total annual public and private health care expenditures caused by smoking

• $1,000:  Amount of money typical smoker spends each year on tobacco

• 3,000,000:  Number of teens and children in the U.S. who smoke cigarettes

• Nearly 90%:  Percent of smokers who begin at or before age 18

• 46,000,000:  Number of U.S. adults who smoke cigarettes

• 35,000:  Number of annual deaths from secondhand smoke exposure

• 4,000:  Number of chemicals in tobacco smoke, including carbon monoxide, formaldehyde, and arsenic

• $34 Million:  Amount tobacco industy spends daily to market its products nationwide
  (U.S. Federal Trade Commission Cigarette Report for 2002)

• 400,000:  Number of Americans who die each year as the result of tobacco-related illnesses
  (almost 1 out of 5 deaths - more than from AIDS, car crashes, alcohol, suicides, homicides, fire and illegal drugs combined)

It's Never Too Late to Quit
The U.S. Surgeon General's Reports of 1998 and 1990 found:

• 20 minutes after quitting:  Your heart rate drops.

• 12 hours after quitting:  The carbon monoxide level in your blood drops to normal.

• 2 weeks to 3 months after quitting:  Your circulation improves and your lung function increases.

• 1 to 9 months after quitting:  Coughing and shortness of breath decrease; cilia (tiny hair-like structures that move mucus out of the lungs) regain normal function in the lungs, increasing the ability to handle mucus, clean the lungs, and reduce the risk of infection.

• 1 year after quitting:  The excess risk of coronary heart disease becomes half that of a smoker's.

• 5 years after quitting:  Your stroke risk is reduced to that of a nonsmoker.

• 10 years after quitting:  The lung cancer death rate is about half that of a continuing smoker's and the risk of cancers of the mouth, throat, esophagus, bladder, cervix, and pancreas decrease.

• 15 years after quitting:  The risk of coronary heart disease is that of a nonsmoker's.