Unbiased Facts About Smoking

FACTS AND STATISTICS ABOUT SMOKING 

by Lilly J. 

• Smoking 
  is the leading cause of preventable death in the United States, and accounts for approximately 443,000 deaths, or 1 of every 5 deaths, in the U.S. each year. 
•  Smoking can increase the chances of heart disease, lung disease, lung cancer, and even death. 
  
• The blood vessels constrict, or tighten, so that blood pressure goes up 5 to 10 points. This puts more pressure and strain on the heart. 
  
• The smoker's heart also speeds up from 10 to 20 beats per minute. 
• It is estimated that every cigarette someone smokes takes 12 minutes off their life. 
  
• Those who choose to smoke jeopardize their friends' and family's health as well as their own. U.S. infants and children under 18 months of age suffer 150,000 to 300,000 respiratory tract infections every year, leading to 7,500 to 15,000 hospitalizations. 
• 3,000 nonsmoking adults die of diseases caused by exposure to secondhand smoke every year. 
• Secondhand smoke contains over 4,000 chemical compounds including carbon monoxide, ammonia, and formaldehyde. 
• The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. National Toxicology Program, the U.S. Surgeon General, and the International Agency for Research on Cancer have all classified secondhand smoke as a known human carcinogen (a cancer-causing agent). 
• An estimated 45.3 million people, or 19.3% of all adults- aged 18 years or older- in the United States smoke. 
• Even if you want to get help, it can be more expensive than the cigarettes themselves. Medication for cancer costs more than many other medications. 
• According to Patrick C. Gallagher, "if the price of cigarettes is relatively small to the cost of living, then people are more likely to smoke, but if prices are high enough (greater taxes), then smoking would not be worthwhile." 

SOURCES USED: 

http://org.elon.edu/ipe/gallagher.pdf

http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/adult_data/cig_smoking/index.htm

http://www.cancer.org/Treatment/FindingandPayingforTreatment/ManagingInsuranceIssues/the-cost-of-cancer-treatment

http://www.smoking-facts.net

http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Tobacco/ETS