Tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable illness and death in the United States. It causes many different cancers as well as chronic lung diseases, such as emphysema and bronchitis, and heart disease.

• Cigarette smoking causes an estimated 443,000 deaths each year, including approximately 49,000 deaths due to exposure to secondhand smoke.

• Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death among both men and women in the United States, and 90 percent of lung cancer deaths among men and approximately 80 percent of lung cancer deaths among women are due to smoking.

• Smoking causes many other types of cancer, including cancers of the throat, mouth, nasal cavity, esophagus, stomach, pancreas, kidney, bladder, and cervix, and acute myeloid leukemia.

• People who smoke are up to six times more likely to suffer a heart attack than nonsmokers, and the risk increases with the number of cigarettes smoked. Smoking also causes most cases of chronic lung disease.

• In 2011, an estimated 19 percent of U.S. adults were cigarette smokers.

• Nearly 16 percent of high school students smoke cigarettes.
  (See Tobacco Statistics Snapshot for references for this information.)

Free Help to Quit Smoking

Smoking Quitline
Talk with an NCI smoking cessation counselor for help quitting and answers to smoking-related questions in English or Spanish – call toll free within the United States, Monday through Friday 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

• 1-877-44U-QUIT (1-877-448-7848)

LiveHelp Online Chat
Get information and advice about quitting smoking through a confidential online text chat with an information specialist from NCI’s Cancer Information Service – Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. Eastern Time: LiveHelp

Smokefree.gov
This website offers science-driven tools, information, and support that have been effective in helping smokers quit: Smokefree.gov

Smokefree Women
Try the Smokefree Women website for information on how to quit smoking. The site covers smoking-related topics that are often important to women, such as weight management and stress, and tells how to contact experts and find other resources.

Smokefree Teen
The Smokefree Teen website was developed specifically to help teen smokers quit and offers tailored information, several social media pages to connect teens with cessation tools, and a free smartphone application.

Source:

Smoking (National Cancer Institute)

For more information:

Go to the Smoking and Tobacco health topic.