Health Facts

  • About 1/3 of youth smokers will eventually die from a tobacco-related disease.
  • In Texas, tobacco use is the number one cause of preventable death and disease.
  • Smoking kills more people than alcohol, AIDS, car crashes, illegal drugs, murders and suicides in the U.S. combined. 
  • In fact, 1,200 people in the U.S. die each day and 24,200 die in Texas each year due to tobacco-related diseases.
  • Teenage smokers suffer from shortness of breath almost three times as often as teens that don’t smoke and produce phlegm more than twice as often as teens that don’t smoke.
  • It may take only just one cigarette to start the process of addiction in your brain; serious symptoms of addiction (strong urge to smoke, anxiousness, irritability or unsuccessful attempts at quitting) can appear within weeks.
  • Studies show nicotine is addictive in ways similar to heroin, cocaine and alcohol.  Nicotine is found in tobacco products.
  • Quitting is tough: 75-80% of all who quit have relapsed within six months and it takes an average of seven tries to quit for good.
  • Smoking can cause impotence and wrinkles.
  • Starting smoking at an early age greatly increases the risk of lung cancer. In fact, smoking is responsible for 87% of lung cancer cases.
  • Chewing tobacco, snuff and other forms of smokeless tobacco can cause gum disease and cancer of the mouth, pharynx and esophagus. It may also increase the risk of heart disease and stroke.
  • Teens who use smokeless tobacco are more likely to become cigarette smokers.
  • Secondhand smoke can trigger asthma or exacerbate asthma symptoms.
  • Secondhand smoke causes about 3,000 deaths each year from lung cancer in people who don’t smoke.
  • Nonsmokers who are exposed to secondhand smoke at home or at work increase their risk for heart disease by 25-30% and for lung cancer by 20-30%.
  • Statewide, approximately 995,000 kids are exposed to secondhand smoke in their homes.

Statistics come from the Texas Department of State Health Services; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; U.S. Surgeon General; Journal of the American Medical Association; American Journal of Health Promotion; and the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.