standonline - Tobacco Facts

Sitting in the non-smoking section of a restaurant for 2 hours is like smoking 1.5 cigarettes.

(JAMA: Occupational Exposure to Environmental Tobacco Smoke, Sept. 1995)

Every 10 minutes, secondhand smoke kills a non-smoker.

[60 minutes in an hour times 24 hours in a day times 365 days in a year equals 525,600 divided by 49,000 equals 10.7 minutes] http://www.tobacco.org/resources/Health/021022glantz.html

More than 70% of college students do not smoke.

(MMWR May 28, 2004, "Cigarette Smoking Among Adults - Untied States, 2002")

Nearly 50% of college social smokers continue smoking after graduation.

(Health Psychology, 23 (2004): p. 168-177)

Males are more likely than females to smoke in college - 30% of males smoke, compared with 24.6% of females.

(Johnston LD, O'Malley PM, Bachman JG. (2003) Monitoring the Future national survey results on drug use, 1975-2002. Volume I: College Secondary School Students. (NIH Publication No. 03-5376). Besthesda, MD National Institute on Drug Abuse.)

In the general population, men are more likely than women to smoke (25.2% and 20.7%, respectively). However, among young adults not in college, women are more likely than men to smoke (38.6% and 36.3%, respectively).

29.5% of males who do not attend college smoke daily and 20.5% smoke half of a pack or more per day.

33% of females who do not attend college smoke daily and 22.8% smoke half of a pack or more per day.

Male college students are more likely to use cigars (16%) and smokeless tobacco (9%) than female students (4%).

(Rigotti, NA, Lee, JE, Wechsler, H. (2000). US College Students' Use of Tobacco Products. Results of a National Survey. JAMA. Vol (284). 6. 699-705.)

37% of adult non-smokers live with a smoker.

(Unpublished American Legacy Foundation data; ASHES 2002. Washington, DC.)

Secondhand smoke exposure causes approximately 49,000 deaths per year among adults.

(Health Consequences of Inventory Exposure to Tobacco Smoke: A Report of the Surgeon General, 2006.)

20% of all adult African-Americans smoke.

(CDC: Cigarette Smoking Among Adults - United States, 2004. MMWR 2005; 54(44); 509-512)

15% of all Hispanic adults smoke.

(CDC: Cigarette Smoking Among Adults - United States, 2004. MMWR 2005; 54(44); 509-512.)

Most people start using tobacco before they finish high school. This means that if you stay smoke-free in school, you will probably never smoke.

(National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion: Tobacco Information and Prevention Source, The Surgeon General's Report for Kids about Smoking January 2005) http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/sgr/sgr4kids/6facts.htm

72% percent of high school seniors consider smoking a dirty habit and say they'd rather date someone who doesn't smoke.

(The Maxwell Consumer Report. Fourth Quarter and Year-End 1998 Sales Estimates for the Cigarette Industry. March 16,1999.) http://www.fablevision.com/smokescreeners/health.html

More than 70% of adolescent smokers wish they had never started smoking in the first place.

(CDC: Selected Cigarette Smoking Initiation and Quitting Behaviors Among High School Students - U.S., 1997. MMWR 1998; 47(19):386-389.) http://www.fablevision.com/smokescreeners/health.html

If current smoking patterns in the United States persist, approximately 5 million of today's children will die prematurely of tobacco-related diseases.

(CDC: Preventing Chronic Diseases: Investing Wisely in Health, August 2005) http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/publications/factsheets/Prevention/pdf/tobacco.pdf

Almost 22% of high school students in the United States are current cigarettes smokers. Each day, an estimated 1,500 persons younger than 18 become regular smokers (smoke on a daily basis).

(CDC: Fast Fact, March 2006, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Overview of Findings from the 2004 National Survey on Drug Use and Health.) http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/overview/Facts/Fast_Facts.htm

800 million packs of cigarettes are consumed by kids each year.

(Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, J. DiFranza & J. Librett, "State and Federal Revenues from Tobacco Consumed by Minors," American Journal of Public Health 89(7): 1106-1108, July 1999) http://www.tobaccofreekids.org/research/factsheets/pdf/0072.pdf

8% of high school students use smokeless tobacco.

(YRBSS: National Youth Risk Behavior Survey 1991-2005) http://www.cdc.gov/HealthyYouth/yrbs/pdf/trends/2005_YRBS_Tobacco_Use.pdf

14% of high school students are current cigar smokers.

(YRBSS: National Youth Risk Behavior Survey 1991-2005) http://www.cdc.gov/HealthyYouth/yrbs/pdf/trends/2005_YRBS_Tobacco_Use.pdf