When You Smoke

Tobacco use is the number one cause of preventable death in the U.S.1

The harmful effects of cigarette smoking account for about 438,000 deaths each year in the United States. More deaths are caused each year by tobacco use than by AIDS, illegal drug use, alcohol use, motor vehicle injuries, suicides and murders combined.

Tobacco use causes cancer1

  • Smoking causes cancer, the second leading cause of death in the U.S.
  • Smoking causes about 90 percent of lung cancer deaths in men and almost 80 percent of lung cancer deaths in women.
  • Compared with people who never smoked, the risk of dying from lung cancer is more than 23 times higher among men who smoke, and about 13 times higher among women who smoke.
  • Smoking causes cancer of the bladder, mouth, throat, cervix, kidney, lung, pancreas and stomach, and causes acute myeloid leukemia.

Tobacco use causes heart disease and stroke1

  • Smoking causes heart disease, the leading cause of death in the U.S. Cigarette smokers are 2-4 times more likely to develop coronary heart disease than nonsmokers.
  • Smoking may double a person’s risk for stroke.
  • Smoking harms circulation by narrowing the blood vessels (arteries). People who smoke are 10 times more likely than nonsmokers to develop peripheral vascular disease.

Tobacco use harms everyone – from birth to old age1

  • People who smoke are 10 times more likely to die from chronic obstructive lung disease. About 90 percent of all deaths from chronic obstructive lung disease are caused by cigarette smoking.
  • Cigarette smoking has many adverse reproductive and early childhood effects, including an increased risk for infertility, preterm delivery, stillbirth, low birth weight and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).
  • Post-menopausal women who smoke have lower bone density than women who never smoked. Women who smoke have an increased risk for hip fracture than people who never smoked.

The good news is that when you quit smoking, the health benefits are immediate. Find out more about what happens when you quit.

1Visit the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention for more information on the health effects of smoking and tobacco use.