Smoking is the number one cause of preventable disease and death worldwide. Smoking-related diseases claim more than 480,000 lives in the U.S. each year. Smoking costs the U.S. at least $289 billion each year, including at least $151 billion in lost productivity and $130 billion in direct healthcare expenditures.1

Key Facts about Smoking

  • Cigarette smoke contains more than 7,000 chemicals, at least 69 of which are known to cause cancer.2 Smoking is directly responsible for approximately 90 percent of lung cancer deaths and approximately 80 percent of deaths caused by chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), including emphysema and chronic bronchitis.1
  • Among adults who have ever smoked daily, 78% had smoked their first cigarette by the time they were 18 years of age, and 94% had by age 21.3
  • Among current smokers, 73% of their diagnosed smoking-related conditions are chronic lung diseases. Even among smokers who have quit, chronic lung disease still accounts for 50% of smoking-related conditions.4
  • Smoking harms nearly every organ in the body, and is a main cause of lung cancer and COPD. It also is a cause of coronary heart disease, stroke and a host of other cancers and diseases.1See more of the health effects caused by smoking.

Smoking Rates among Adults & Youth

  • In 2017, an estimated 34.3 million, or 14.0% of adults 18 years of age and older were current cigarette smokers.5
  • Men tend to smoke more than women. In 2017, 15.8% of men currently smoked cigarettes daily compared to 12.2% of women.
  • Prevalence of current cigarette smoking in 2017 was highest among American Indians/Alaska Natives (24.6%), non-Hispanic whites (15.3%) and non-Hispanic blacks (15.1%), and was lowest among Hispanics (9.9%) and Asian-Americans (7.0%).5
  • In 2017, 7.6 % of high school students and 2.1% of middle school students were current cigarette users.6

Facts about Quitting Smoking

  • Nicotine is the chemical in cigarettes that causes addiction. Smokers not only become physically addicted to nicotine; they also link smoking with many social activities, making smoking an extremely difficult addiction to break.7
  • In 2017, an estimated 55.2 million adults were former smokers. Of the 34.3 million current adult smokers, 48.4% stopped smoking for a day or more in the preceding year because they were trying to quit smoking completely.5
  • Quitting smoking for good often requires multiple attempts. Using counseling or medication alone increases the chance of a quit attempt being successful; the combination of both is even more effective.8
  • There are seven medications approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to aid in quitting smoking. Nicotine patches, nicotine gum and nicotine lozenges are available over the counter, and a nicotine nasal spray and inhaler are currently available by prescription. Bupropion SR (Zyban®) and varenicline (Chantix®) are non-nicotine pills.8
  • Individual, group and telephone counseling are effective. Telephone quitline counseling is available in all 50 states and is effective for many different groups of smokers.8

Learn about the American Lung Association’s programs to help you or a loved one quit smoking, and join our advocacy efforts to reduce tobacco use and exposure to secondhand smoke. Visit Lung.org or call the Lung HelpLine at 1-800-LUNGUSA (1-800-586-4872).

  • The Health Effects of Smoking

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  1. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Health Consequences of Smoking - 50 Years of Progress: A Report of the Surgeon General. 2014.

  2. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. How Tobacco Smoke Causes Disease: The Biology and Behavioral Basis for Smoking-Attributable Disease A Report of the Surgeon General. 2010.

  3. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 2017. Analysis by the American Lung Association Epidemiology and Statistics Unit using SPSS software.

  4. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Health Consequences of Smoking: A Report of the Surgeon General, 2004.

  5. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National Center for Health Statistics. National Health Interview Survey, 2015. Analysis performed by the American Lung Association Epidemiology and Statistics Unit using SPSS software.

  6. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National Youth Tobacco Survey, 2017. Analysis by the American Lung Association Epidemiology and Statistics Unit using SPSS software.

  7. National Institute on Drug Abuse. Tobacco/Nicotine Research Report: Is Nicotine Addictive? January 2018.

  8. Fiore M, Jaen C, Baker T, et al. Treating Tobacco Use and Dependence: 2008 Update. Clinical Practice Guideline. Vol 35. Rockville, MD; 2008.

Page last updated: November 17, 2022

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