Facts about Smoking

Cigarette smokers aged 35 are twice as likely, when compared with non-smokers, to die before they reach the age of 65.


About four million people die worldwide each year as a result of smoking

After a year only about 4% of smokers who quit without any outside help succeed

Smoke also contains nitrogen oxide and carbon monoxide, which are harmful gases.

172,000 people are diagnosed with lung cancer every year in the U.S. Over 160, 000 die

A 20-a-day smoker breathes in up to a full cup (210 g) of tar in a year.

One in four male smokers aged 35 can expect to die before the age of 65

3,000 people die in the U.S. each year from lung cancer due to secondhand smoke

Smoking decreases a person's life expectancy by 10 - 12 years

In the USA more than the number of people who would die every year if three jumbo jets crashed each day with no survivors die from the effects of smoking

Around 114,000 people in the UK are killed by smoking every year

20% of all UK deaths are smoking related

The primary obstacle in trying to quit alone is making the behavioural changes necessary to eliminate the habits associated with smoking

An estimated four million children a year fall ill from exposure to second-hand smoke

3,000 young people become regular smokers every day

Forty-three known carcinogens are in mainstream smoke, sidestream smoke, or both

Smokers in their thirties and forties have a heart attack rate that is five times higher nonsmokers

The resting heart rates of young adult smokers are two to three beats per minute faster than nonsmokers

Smoking reduces the mother's folate levels, a B vitamin that is important for preventing birth defects

Maternal smoking has been linked to abnormal lung function in children; the defects persist throughout life

The toxins contained in secondhand smoke may be different, and even more potent, than the toxins inhaled by smokers

About 70% of smokers in the United States would like to quit; in any given year, however, only about 3.6% of the country's 47 million smokers quit successfully

Teens who smoke are three times as likely as nonsmokers to use alcohol, eight times as likely to use marijuana, and 22 times as likely to use cocaine

Deaths caused by smoking were five times higher than the 22,833 deaths arising from: traffic accidents (3,439); poisoning and overdose (881); alcoholic liver disease (5,121); other accidental deaths (8,579); murder and manslaughter (513); suicide (4,066); and HIV infection (234) in the UK during 2002.

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Smoking men are 27 times more likely to get lung cancer than men who don’t smoke.

Environment Protection Agency (EPA) has classified second hand smoke as a Group A carcinogen

Smoking causes disease and is a slow way to die

89% of lung cancer deaths in England are caused by smoking

Smoking lowers HDL levels (the so-called good cholesterol) even in adolescents

Tobacco smoke increases cardiovascular disease in women through an effect on hormones that causes oestrogen deficiency

Smoking has been classified as the single most preventable cause of premature death in the United States

Men who smoke 18 or more cigarettes a day for at least two years have about one quarter of the fertilization power of non-smokers.

Side effects of nicotine replacement product may include headaches, nausea, and other gastrointestinal problems

Smoking accounts for an estimated 14% of premature births and 10% of infant deaths

Smokers and former smokers are twice more likely to develop incontinence than women who never smoked.

Some smokers end up having their limbs amputated.

Cancer of the tongue accounts for 1 in 4 new cases of oral cancer in the UK and almost one third of deaths from oral cancer

Parental smoking has been shown to affect the lungs of infants as early as the first two to 10 weeks of life

33% of cases of pancreatic cancer can be attributed to cigarette smoking and is fourth leading cause of death from cancer in the U.S.

An estimated four million children a year fall ill from exposure to second-hand smoke

Smoking is recognized as one of several factors that might be related to a higher risk of hip fractures in older adults

Some chemical compounds found in smoke only become carcinogenic after they've come into contact with certain enzymes found in many of the tissues of the human body

33% of all people who die from oral cancer are under 65 years old

Smoking has been associated with depression and psychological distress

One of the toxic byproducts present in cigarette smoke is hydrogen cyanide which under the name of Zyklon B, was used as a genocidal agent during World War II

Smoking can affect blood vessels in the brain as it does in the heart, increasing the risk for dementia from small or major strokes.

Infant mortality rates in pregnant smokers are increased by 33%

Tobacco smoke contains at least 43 carcinogenic (cancer-causing) substances

83 per cent of deaths from emphysema and bronchitis in England are smoking related

Cigarette smoking increases the risk of developing bladder cancer by a factor of nearly five

50% of young deaths, below age 65, from heart disease are caused by smoking

Smokers also have higher rates of leukemia and cancers of the kidney, stomach, bladder, and pancreas

One in two lifetime smokers will die from their habit. 50% of these deaths will occur in middle age

Carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, hydrogen cyanide and ammonia are all present in cigarette smoke

Postmenopausal women who smoke have 17% greater risk for hip fracture at age 60, a 41% greater risk at 70, and a 108% greater risk at age 90

17% of deaths in the UK that are caused by heart disease happened because the victim was a smoker.

Smokers are twice as likely as non-smokers to have a sudden cardiac arrest

After smoking just one cigarette, the compulsion to smoke another can last for at least three years

Smokers are nearly five times more likely to develop more and deeper wrinkles as they age compared to nonsmokers.

Children who breathe in second hand smoke are more likely to suffer from dental cavities

Smoking doubles the risk of ischemic stroke (reduced blood flow to the brain).

Stopping smoking not only reduces the risk of coronary heart disease, but also reduces the risk of repeat heart attacks and death by heart disease by 50 percent

Smoking in pregnant women and new mothers is strongly linked to sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)

Smokers are twice as likely to die from coronary heart disease

Cigarette smoking may be directly responsible for at least 20% of all deaths from heart disease

Passive smoking has been linked to the narrowing of the carotid arteries, which carry blood to the brain

About 1 in 6 boys and 1 in 4 girls are regular smokers by the age of 15

Children are three times more likely to smoke if their parents smoke

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Smoking impairs formation of new bone and women who smoke are at high risk for osteoporosis

30% of cervical cancers have been attributed to both active and passive smoking

Nicotine is a poison and taken in large doses could kill a person by paralyzing breathing muscles.

Teenage smokers suffer from shortness of breath almost three times as often as teens who don't smoke, and produce phlegm more than twice as often as teens who don't smoke.

The likelihood of having a male child is lowest when both parents smoke.

People who smoke a pack a day have almost two and a half times the risk of stroke as non-smokers

Over 38 million people in the United States have successfully quit smoking

Maternal smoking is believed to be related to 37% of the cases of childhood meningococcal disease, an uncommon but potentially fatal infection

Statistics show a direct relation between smoking during pregnancy and spontaneous abortions, stillbirths, death among newborns.

33% of SIDS deaths among babies of women who smoked during pregnancy can be attributed to smoking

Children of mothers who smoke have higher than normal risks of developing asthma

90 percent of new smokers are children and teenagers

Smoking impairs formation of new bone, and women who smoke are at high risk for loss of bone density and osteoporosis

Parental smoking has been linked to recurrent ear infections and eczema

Exposure to second hand smoke hastens hardening of the arteries, a condition known as artherosclerosis

Women who smoke may pass genetic mutations that increase cancer risks to their unborn babies

Young people vastly underestimate the addictiveness of nicotine. Of daily smokers who think that they will not smoke in five years, nearly 75 percent are still smoking five to six years later

Smoking triples the risk for developing thyroid disease

A nonsmoker who is married to a smoker has a 30% greater risk of developing lung cancer than a nonsmoker living with a nonsmoker

In one study only 42% of male lifelong smokers reached the age of 73 compared to 78% of nonsmokers

Smoking changes the properties of blood vessels and blood cells - allowing cholesterol and other fatty substances to build up

Parental smoking has also been linked to ear infections and eczema

Smoking a cigarette raises the blood pressure by 5-10 mm Hg for about 30 minutes

1987 the death rate from lung cancer in women surpassed that of breast cancer, the most common cancer in women

Emphysema is an illness that slowly rots your lungs

Smoking is responsible for 151,322 cancer deaths annually in the United States

Smoking also reduces sperm density and their motility, increasing the risk for infertility

Women who smoke tend to start menopause at an earlier age than nonsmokers

There are 599 additives approved by the US Government for use in the manufacture of cigarettes

Smoking appeared in 74 percent of the 500 most popular movies from 1998 to 2002

Tar in cigarette smoke paralyzes the cilia in the lungs

Smokers inhale other chemicals including cyanide, benzene, formaldehyde, methanol (wood alcohol), acetylene (the fuel used in torches), and ammonia

4000 chemical compounds are created by burning a cigarette, many of which are toxic and/or carcinogenic.

Smoking is cited as a risk for dying of pneumonia, chronic bronchitis, or emphysema

Studies show that smokers are more likely to have thyroid enlargement

The boast, "I can quit anytime," simply isn't true. Nicotine is addictive.

Smoking increases the activity of the sympathetic nervous system, which regulates the heart and blood vessels

Children of smoking mothers are more likely to have more motor control problems

Smoking is chronic a disease that needs treatment before it kills you

A report published in the American Journal of Epidemiology suggests that smoking increased the risk of developing non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) by more than three times

Studies have pointed to smoking as a risk in vision loss among older people, mental impairment later in life, Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia.

According to the American Lung Association, smoking during pregnancy accounts for an estimated 20 to 30 percent of low birth weight babies, up to 14 percent of premature deliveries, and about 10 percent of all infant deaths.

400,000 Americans die each year because they smoke cigarettes, making it the single most preventable cause of premature death in the United States

Number of deaths per hour attributed to tobacco in the US: 45

Number of deaths per hour due to cardiovascular disease in the US: 21

Number of deaths per hour due to Obstructive lung disease in the US: 8

Number of identified carcinogens in tobacco smoke: 43

Number of times "addiction" is listed on cigarette warnings (in United States): 0

Annual Revenues of the U.S. tobacco companies: excess $32 billion

Percentage of adult smokers who had tried cigarettes by 18th birthday: 80

Percentage of smokers age 12 to 17, according to a Gallup poll, who want to quit: 66.

If you smoke for a lifetime, there is a 50% chance that your eventual death will be smoking-related

30% of cervical cancers have been attributed to both active and passive smoking

Men who smoke also have lower sex drives and less frequent sex.


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