Tobacco use is the nation's number one cause of preventable death in the U.S. The facts are clear. Over 40,000 careful studies have proven that smoking causes disease and death. Every medical and health agency agrees. Each year, more Americans die from smoking-related diseases than from AIDS, drug abuse, car accidents and murder combined.

Take a look at the facts about cigarette smoking and your lungs.

Cigarette Smoking -- The Facts
An estimated 430,000 Americans die each year from the effects of cigarette smoking.

• Smoking causes 20% (or 1 in 5) of all deaths in the United States each year.
• Cigarette smoking is the major cause of:
• emphysema
• lung cancer
• chronic bronchitis
• heart disease and stroke
• In 1988, the U.S. Surgeon General reported that nicotine is just as addictive as heroin and cocaine. A "hit" of nicotine reaches the brain in seven seconds, twice as fast as heroin injected into the vein.
• In the U.S., about 1.3 million people quit smoking each year, but about 48 million continue to smoke.
• It is estimated that 8,200 (19.8%) of the deaths in Washington state in 1997 were attributable to smoking.
• The 1998 Behavior Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) reported that 21.4% of adults in Washington State currently smoke.

Tobacco Costs -- The Facts

• Cigarettes are the most heavily advertised products in the U.S.
• Tobacco companies spend over 4 billion dollars each year on advertising and promotion of their deadly products.
• Smoking costs the nation over $100 billion per year in health care costs and lost productivity -- that's about $398 per American each year.
• In Washington state $1.3 billion is spent each year on health care costs associated with caring for people with tobacco related illnesses.

Women and Smoking -- The Facts

• Lung cancer has now surpassed breast cancer as the leading cause of cancer deaths among women.
• Current female smokers aged 35 and older are more than 10 times as likely to die from emphysema or chronic bronchitis than nonsmoking females.
• Americans are starting to smoke at a younger age, especially young girls.
• Pregnant smokers have higher rates of miscarriage, stillbirths and babies who are born too soon. More of their babies die soon after birth from crib death than newborns of nonsmoking mothers.
• In 1997, nearly 11,000 Washington babies were born to mothers who smoked during pregnancy.
• As more women start to smoke, their death rates from smoking-related lung diseases are fast approaching male smoking rates.

Men and Smoking -- The Facts

• Cigarette smoking is the #1 cause of cancer death in men.
• Current male smokers over age 35 are almost 10 times more likely to die of lung disease and 22 times more likely to die from lung cancer than nonsmoking males.

Smoking and Youth -- The Facts

• The 1998 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) found that nation wide 90.8% of students had ever tried cigarette smoking.
• Tobacco is often the first drug used by young people who go on to use alcohol, marijuana and other drugs.
• Data from the Washington State Survey of Adolescent Health Behaviors (WSSAHB) for the years 1990-1998 show that the prevalence of smoking increased for 6^th graders (from 2.4% to 4.7%) 10^th graders (from 15.5% to 21.8%) and high school seniors (from 20.7% to 28.6%).

Smoking and Special Populations -- The Facts
In 1995 a Epidemiological Study conducted by the American Lung Association® found that:

• 25.6% of whites in the US smoked
• 24.1% of white females in the US smoked
• 27.1% of white males in the US smoke
• 25.8% of African Americans in the US smoked
• 23.5% of African American Women in the US smoked
• 28.8% of African American Men in the US smoked
• 16.6% of Asian Pacific Islanders smoked
• 4.3% of Asian Pacific Islander Women in the US smoked
• 29.4% of Asian Pacific Islander Men in the US smoked
• 36.2% of American Indian/Alaskan Natives in the US smoked
• 35.4% of American Indian/Alaskan Native Women in the US smoked
• 37.3 % of American Indian/Alaskan Native Men in the US smoked
• 18.3% of Hispanics in the US smoked
• 14.9% of Hispanic Women in the US smoked
• 21.7% of Hispanic Men in the US smoked

Tips to Help You Stop Smoking

1. Make a list of your reasons for quitting and say them often.

2. Set a quit date and tell everyone you are going to quit.

3. Keep a supply of healthy snacks handy.

4. Increase your exercise. Walk more.

5. Make specific plans for what you'll do when the urge hits. For example, take a deep breath, get up and walk around, call a friend for help, keep your hands busy. Remember the urge passes in just a few minutes whether you smoke or not.

6. Remove all cigarettes, ashtrays, matches and lighters from your home, workplace and car.

7. Ask your doctor whether using a nicotine replacement product is right for you. Ask for his or her support in helping you to stop smoking.

8. Contact your local American Lung Association® or call 1-800-LUNG-USA. We are there to offer stop smoking materials and support. YOU CAN DO IT!