National Data

Prevalence Data

  • An estimated 45 million American adults currently smoke cigarettes.

  • Nearly 90% of adult smokers begin while in their teens.

Mortality & Morbidity Data

  • Every year, cigarette smoking kills 1 in 5 (443,000) people in the U.S.
  • Smoking accounts for at least 30% of cancer deaths and 87% of lung cancer deaths.
  • 8.6 million people in the United States currently suffer from a smoking-related illness.

Secondhand Smoke Data

  • Nearly 50,000 of adult non-smokers die each year from exposure to second hand smoke
  • Secondhand smoke exposure costs the U.S. $4.98 billion in healthcare expenditures each year.

Healthcare Costs

  •  Tobacco costs the U.S. more than $96 billion in health care expenditures each year.

Industry Spending

  • The tobacco industry spends $10.5 billion on marketing its products nationwide.

Other things to know

  • The average pack of cigarettes in the United States costs $5.29 (including sales tax).
  • 75% of workplaces in the United States have smoke-free policies.

Connecticut Data

Prevalence Data

  • 15.4% of adults smoke in Connecticut.
  • 16.2% of adult men smoke in Connecticut.
  • 14.7% of adult women smoke in Connecticut.
  • 24% of people 18 to 24 years old smoke in Connecticut.

Mortality Data

  •  Each year 4,700 people in Connecticut die from smoking.
  • Each year 440 people die from secondhand smoke exposure in Connecticut.

Cigarette Data

  • In 2008 155.8 million packs of cigarettes were sold to Connecticut residents.
  • The average retail cost of a pack of cigarettes in Connecticut is $7.45.
  • In Connecticut cigarette taxes are $3.40, the 3rd highest in the nation.

Smoking-caused Monetary Costs in Connecticut

  • Annual health care costs in Connecticut directly caused by smoking: $1.63 billion.
  • Portion covered by the state Medicaid program: $430 million.
  • Residents' state & federal tax burden from smoking-caused government expenditures: $665 per household.
  • Productivity losses: $1.03 billion.

Industry Spending

  • Each year tobacco companies spend $98.4 million on tobacco product marketing in Connecticut.

Data on Quitting Smoking

  • 70% of Connecticut’s smokers indicate they want to quit.
  • 45% of Connecticut’s smokers attempt to quit each year.
  • 5% of Connecticut smokers are successful for longer than 12 months.

Youth Data

National Data

  • Each year nearly 4,000 kids in the United States try their first cigarette.
  • Each day 1,000+ kids become regular, daily smokers.
  • There are nearly 400,000 new underage daily smokers in this country each year.
  • 20% of high school students are current smokers by the time they leave high school.
  • Kids consume 800 million packs of cigarettes each year.
  • Tobacco companies market to kids as young as 14 years old.
  • More than 15.5 million kids are exposed to secondhand smoke at home.

Connecticut Data

  • Each year 4,300 kids begin smoking in Connecticut.
  • More than 30,000 high school students smoke tobacco.
  • Each year kids buy 7 million packs of cigarettes.
  • Each year 186,000 kids are exposed to secondhand smoke in Connecticut.
  • 76,000 kids will ultimately die prematurely from smoking.