Stop Smoking Now Aids

Tobacco-Related Cancers Fact Sheet

• Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the United States for both men and women. (Source: Cancer Facts and Figures 2008)
• Lung cancer is the most preventable form of cancer death in our society. (Source: Cancer Facts and Figures 2008)
• Lung cancer estimates for 2008 (Source: Cancer Facts and Figures 2008):

• Besides lung cancer, tobacco use also causes increased risk for cancer of the mouth, nasal cavities (nose), larynx (voice box), pharynx (throat), esophagus (swallowing tube), stomach, liver, pancreas, kidney, bladder, uterine cervix, and acute myeloid leukemia. (Source: Cancer Facts and Figures 2008)
• In the United States, tobacco use was responsible for nearly 1 in 5 deaths or an estimated 438,000 premature deaths per year from 1997 to 2001. (Cancer Facts and Figures 2008)
• Tobacco use accounts for at least 30% of all cancer deaths and 87% of lung cancer deaths. (Source: Cancer Facts and Figures 2008)
• Per capita cigarette consumption is currently lower than at any point since the start of World War II. Nonetheless, an estimated 24% of men and 18% of women still smoke cigarettes, with approximately 80% of these individuals smoking daily. (Source: MMWR, Nov. 9, 2007: Cigarette Smoking Among Adults — United States 2006)
• Cigarette smoking among adults aged 18 and older went down 50% between 1965 and 2004 — from 42% to 21%; still, about 45 million Americans are current smokers. (Source: Cancer Facts and Figures 2008)
• In 1997, nearly one-half (48%) of male high school students and more than one-third (36%) of female students reported using some form of tobacco — cigarettes, cigars, or oral tobacco products–in the past month. The percentages declined to 32% for male students and 25% for female students in 2005. (Source: Cancer Facts and Figures 2008)
• Each year, about 3,000 non-smoking adults die of lung cancer as a result of breathing secondhand smoke. Each year secondhand smoke also causes an estimated 35,000 deaths from heart disease in people who are not current smokers. (Source: Cancer Facts and Figures 2008)
• Cigars contain many of the same carcinogens that are found in cigarettes. Cigar smoking increased 148% from 1993 to 2006. Cigar smoking is associated with cancers of the lung, oral cavity (mouth), larynx (voice box), esophagus (swallowing tube), and possibly the pancreas. (Source: Cancer Facts and Figures 2008)
• Among adults age 18 and older, national data from 2004 showed 6% of men and 1% of women were current users of chewing tobacco or snuff. Nationwide, 14% of US male high school students and 2% of female high school students were using chewing tobacco, snuff, or dip in 2005. (Source: Cancer Facts and Figures 2007)
• Oral tobacco products contain 28 cancer-causing agents (carcinogens). Oral tobacco is a known cause of human cancer, as it increases the risk of developing cancer of the oral cavity (mouth). (Source: CDC Web site, Smokeless Tobacco Fact Sheet, 2007)
• Oral tobacco use can lead to nicotine addiction and dependence.
• Smoking causes more than $167 billion in annual health-related economic costs, including adult death-related productivity costs, adult medical expenditures, and medical expenditures for newborns. (Source: Cancer Facts and Figures 2008)