1. Smoking and Cancer Facts:
1/3 of all cases of cancer in the U.S. are attributed to smoking
Smoking a single cigarette lowers one’s life expectancy by 10.7 minutes
Smoking a pack of cigarettes (20) shortens a persons life by 3 1/2 hours

2. More Facts: 90 % of lung cancer patients die within 3 years
96% of lung cancer patients were smokers
Lung cancer incidence increases with number of cigarettes smoked per day

3. Smoking as a preventable disease.
Cigarette smoking remains the leading preventable cause of death in the United States, accounting for approximately 1 of every 5 deaths (438,000 people) each year.
Obesity may soon pass this!

4. Ingredients found in cigarettes:

5. Second Hand Smoke Second hand smoke contains more than 4,000 chemicals
Babies who are around second hand are more likely to die of SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome)
Second Hand Smoke causes low birth weight and lung problems in infants.

6. National Estimates
An estimated, 20.9 percent of all adults ( million people) smoke cigarettes in the United States.
Cigarette smoking estimates by age are as follows: 18–24 years (23.6 percent), 25–44 years (23.8 percent), 45–64 years ( percent), and 65 years or older (8.8 percent).
Cigarette smoking is more common among men (23.4 percent) than women ( percent).

7. National Data
Prevalence of cigarette smoking is highest among American Indians/Alaska Natives (33.4 percent), followed by whites (22.2 percent), African Americans (20.2 percent), & Hispanics (15 percent).
Cigarette smoking estimates are highest for adults with a General Education Development (GED) diploma (39.6 percent) or 9–11 years of education (34 percent), and lowest for adults with an undergraduate college degree (11.7 percent) or a graduate college degree (8 percent).

8. Data (continued)
Cigarette smoking is more common among adults who live below the poverty level (29.1 percent) than among those living at or above the poverty level (20.6 percent).

9. State Estimates
In 2004, the state estimates for cigarette smoking varied widely, ranging from 10.5 percent in Utah and percent in California, to 27.6 percent in Kentucky and 26.9 percent in West Virginia.

10. More State Estimates
The highest state estimates for cigarette smoking among men were in Kentucky (29.3 percent), Mississippi (29.1 percent), and Alabama (29 percent); the lowest estimates were in Utah (11.7 percent), California ( percent), and Idaho (19.2 percent).

11. (Continued)
The highest estimates for cigarette smoking among women were in West Virginia (26.4 percent), Kentucky ( percent), and Tennessee ( percent); the lowest estimates were in Utah (9.4 percent) and California ( percent).

12. Cancer causing mutations accumulate over time:
Annual death rate from cancer climbs with age
Rate of cancer deaths increases steeply after age 40
Rate of cancer deaths increases even more steeply after age 60
Several independent mutations must accumulate to give rise to cancer
Cancer rates are higher in different geographic areas
Mississippi Delta (pesticide runoff)
U.S. = large intestine cancer (higher meat consumption)