Fast Facts 

♦ Tobacco use kills nearly 

500,000 Americans each year.

♦ About 1 in 7 US adults still 

smoke cigarettes, and about 

3.9 million middle and high 

school students use at least 

one tobacco product, including 

e-cigarettes.

♦ Nicotine is highly addictive and 

can harm teens’ developing 

brains. No tobacco product is 

safe for young people to use.

♦ About 25% of US nonsmokers 

are exposed to secondhand 

smoke where they live, work, 

or play.

♦ CDC supports comprehensive 

tobacco control programs 

in all 50 states, the District 

of Columbia, 8 US territories 

or jurisdictions, and 12 tribal 

organizations.

At A Glance 2017

Tobacco Use

Extinguishing the Epidemic

Tobacco use is the leading cause of 

preventable disease, disability, and 

death in the United States. Every day, 

about 2,300 young people under age 

18 try their first cigarette. Each year, 

nearly half a million American adults die 

prematurely of smoking or exposure to 

secondhand smoke. Another 16 million 

live with a serious illness caused by smoking.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is at the forefront 

of the nation’s efforts to reduce deaths and prevent chronic diseases 

that result from tobacco use. CDC and its partners promote tobacco 

control interventions, including smoke-free environments, programs 

to help tobacco users quit, actions to prevent young people from 

starting to use tobacco, and steps to eliminate tobacco-related health 

disparities in different population groups.

Public Health Problem 

Cigarette smoking rates for both adults and young people are less 

than half what they were in 1965. Nearly 60% of the US population 

is covered by state or local laws that protect nonsmokers from 

exposure to tobacco smoke in public places, such as worksites, 

restaurants, and bars. Yet even with this progress, more than 1 in 7 US 

adults still smoke cigarettes, and one-quarter of the US population is 

exposed to secondhand smoke.

Nearly 9 in 10 US adult cigarette smokers first tried a cigarette before 

age 18. Today, about 3.9 million middle and high school students 

use at least one tobacco product, such as e-cigarettes, hookah, and 

conventional cigarettes. Cigarette smoking damages nearly every 

organ of the body. Cigarette smokers miss more work, visit a doctor 

more often, are hospitalized more often, and die 10 to 12 years 

earlier than nonsmokers. Each year, the United States spends nearly 

$170 billion on medical care to treat diseases related to cigarette 

smoking in adults.

Secondhand smoke exposure also causes many serious illnesses—

such as heart disease, stroke, and lung cancer—in nonsmoking 

Office on Smoking and Health

National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health 
E-Cigarette Use Among 

Young People

Electronic nicotine delivery 

systems—including e-cigarettes, 

vape pens, e-hookah, and similar 

devices—have been the tobacco 

product most commonly used by 

young people since 2014. 

The good news is that, in 2016, 

e-cigarette use among US youth 

dropped for the first time—from 

16.0% in 2015 to 11.3% in 2016 

among high school students 

and from 5.3% to 4.3% among 

middle school students. 

These declines are likely the 

result of tobacco prevention and 

control strategies at national, 

state, and local levels.

Use of any tobacco product, 

including e-cigarettes, poses 

dangers to young people. Most 

e-cigarettes contain nicotine, 

which is a highly addictive 

drug that can harm brain 

development. 

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CDC’s Response

The National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health 

Promotion (NCCDPHP) works in four key areas or domains: 

epidemiology and surveillance, environmental approaches, health 

care system interventions, and community programs linked to clinical 

services. This comprehensive approach supports healthy choices 

and behaviors, makes healthier options more available, and helps 

Americans better manage their health. 

CDC works with partners—such as public health agencies, other 

federal agencies, academia, community organizations, businesses, 

and faith-based groups—to improve the nation’s health by reducing 

the use of tobacco products. With $205 million in FY 2017 funding, 

CDC’s Office on Smoking and Health supports these efforts by 

working in all of NCCDPHP’s four domains. More than 80% of its 

budget supports state, local, and tribal tobacco control efforts. 

Epidemiology and Surveillance

CDC conducts and coordinates surveillance, laboratory, and 

evaluation activities related to tobacco use and its effect on health. 

For example, CDC:

♦ Monitors changes and trends in the use of tobacco products.

Tobacco Use in the Past 30 Days 

Among High School Students

11.3%

8.0%

7.7%

5.8%

4.8%

E-Cigarettes

Cigarettes

Cigars

Smokeless

Hookah

Source: National Youth Tobacco Survey, 2016.

adults. In children, secondhand smoke can cause sudden infant death 

syndrome, acute respiratory infections, ear infections, and more 

frequent and severe asthma attacks. About 58 million nonsmoking 

Americans are exposed to secondhand smoke, including 15 million 

children aged 3 to 11 years.

Note: Average annual number of deaths for adults aged 35 or older, 2005–2009.

Source: 2014 Surgeon General’s Report, Table 12.4, page 660.

 Other Diagnoses

 31,681 (7%)

 Stroke 15,300 (3%) 

Heart Disease

158,750 (33%)

Lung Cancer

137,989 

(29%)

More Than

480,000

US Deaths 

Every Year

Are From

Cigarette Smoking 

Other Cancers 36,000 (7%)

Chronic 

Obstructive 

Pulmonary 

Disease

100,600 (21%)

Annual Deaths from Smoking, United States
Tips® Campaign Motivates 

Millions to Try Quitting

In 2012, CDC launched the firstever federally funded, national 

tobacco education campaign, 

called Tips From Former Smokers. 

The campaign features real 

people who tell their stories 

of living with serious health 

problems from smoking or 

secondhand smoke exposure.

The Tips campaign connects 

smokers who want to quit 

with resources to help them 

quit, including a free national 

quitline (1-800-QUIT-NOW). It 

also encourages doctors, nurses, 

dentists, pharmacists, and other 

health care providers to help their 

patients quit for good. 

This groundbreaking campaign 

has motivated millions of 

Americans to try to quit smoking, 

and at least 500,000 smokers quit 

for good during 2012–2016.

♦ Assesses tobacco knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors using 

surveys of adults and young people.

♦ Evaluates the effectiveness of comprehensive tobacco control and 

prevention programs and policies.

♦ Publishes studies to answer important questions about tobacco 

use and tobacco control.

♦ Evaluates additives and chemical constituents of tobacco products 

and secondhand smoke.

Environmental Approaches

Supporting Comprehensive Tobacco Control Programs 

In 2014, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) 

published a 50th anniversary Surgeon General’s Report on the health 

consequences of smoking. This report outlines strategies to end 

the smoking epidemic and recommends the use of comprehensive 

tobacco control programs, which reduce smoking rates, as well as 

deaths and diseases caused by smoking. The goal of these programs 

is to use coordinated activities to:

♦ Prevent adolescents and young adults from starting to use 

tobacco.

♦ Promote quitting.

♦ Eliminate exposure to secondhand smoke.

♦ Identify and eliminate tobacco-related health disparities.

CDC supports comprehensive tobacco control programs in all 50 

states, the District of Columbia, 8 US territories or jurisdictions, and 

12 tribal organizations. This support includes the evidence-based 

guide, Best Practices for Comprehensive Tobacco Control Programs. 

These programs are a good investment for states. For example, 

California’s program saved the state $55 for every $1 invested in 

tobacco control over 20 years, mostly in health care costs to treat 

smoking-related illness.

Comprehensive tobacco control programs include hard-hitting media 

campaigns that give tobacco users information about the negative 

effects of smoking and encouragement for quitting. These campaigns 

can also help prevent people from starting to use tobacco.

Other CDC efforts include funding eight national networks to 

reduce tobacco use among specific populations and managing 

HHS’s Interagency Committee on Smoking and Health, which 

coordinates research programs between federal, state, local, and 

private agencies. In addition, CDC is helping to support the US 

Department of Housing and Urban Development’s smoke-free 

policy for the nation’s 1.2 million public housing units, which house 

more than 2 million people.

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Health Care System Interventions

CDC supports efforts to help tobacco users quit through innovations 

within the health care system. The agency works with partners, 

including payers, purchasers, and providers in both private and public 

health systems, to:

♦ Expand access to and use of proven tobacco cessation treatments 

that follow the US Public Health Services’ Clinical Practice Guideline, 

Treating Tobacco Use and Dependence: 2008 Update.

♦ Remove barriers to accessing proven cessation treatments, such as 

cost-sharing and prior authorization.

♦ Promote use of proven cessation treatments by tobacco users.

Community Programs Linked to Clinical Services

Promoting Quitline Services

Quitlines are telephone-based services that help tobacco users who 

want to quit by giving callers counseling, practical information on 

how to quit, referral to other cessation resources, and, in some states 

and for certain populations, cessation medication approved by the US 

Food and Drug Administration. CDC supports state quitline services in 

all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and 2 US territories. The agency 

works to expand the reach of these services, especially in populations 

with high rates of tobacco use. CDC promotes 1-800-QUIT-NOW, which 

connects callers nationwide to free services from their state quitlines.

CDC also promotes the national Asian Language Quitline, which 

provides services in Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese, and the 

national Spanish Quitline (1-855-DEJELO-YA), which connects callers 

to Spanish-language services available from state quitlines.

Communicating Information to the Public

CDC translates research into practice by educating the public, policy 

makers, health professionals, and partners about the dangers of 

tobacco use. For example, the agency developed the Tips® campaign 

to highlight stories of people living with disease caused by tobacco 

use and exposure to secondhand smoke.

CDC also uses social media to reach specific audiences, including 

adolescents and young adults, with information and links to 

resources to help them quit. The agency creates digital content and 

traditional media products that can be used by the public, partners, 

and policy makers.

Promoting Action Through Partnerships

To advance tobacco prevention and control, CDC works with partners 

such as the American Cancer Society, American Heart Association, 

American Lung Association, Americans for Nonsmokers’ Rights, Truth 

Initiative, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, Robert Wood Johnson 

Foundation, and North American Quitline Consortium.

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For more information, contact

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 

National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention 

and Health Promotion 

Office on Smoking and Health

1-800-CDC-INFO (232-4636); TTY: 1-888-232-6348 

Contact CDC-Info

Future Directions

CDC will continue to work with 

decision makers, partners, health 

officials, and the public to end 

the tobacco epidemic by:

♦ Supporting comprehensive 

state tobacco prevention and 

control programs.

♦ Educating the public about 

the harms of tobacco use, 

including through paid media 

campaigns like Tips.

♦ Supporting health systems to 

improve cessation insurance 

coverage, remove barriers 

to evidence-based cessation 

treatments, and promote use 

of covered treatments.

♦ Reducing tobacco-related 

health disparities through 

national networks working to 

reduce tobacco use among 

specific populations.

♦ Supporting state quitlines 

and maintaining and 

promoting 1-800-QUIT-NOW, 

1-855-DEJELO-YA, and the 

Asian Language Quitline.