Cigarettes cause one out of every five deaths in the U.S. today. While this figure will gradually decline to one in ten deaths in coming decades, this is still completely unacceptable. More than 30 percent of coronary heart disease cases are attributable to cigarette smoking. More than 30 percent of all annual cancer deaths are attributable to smoking. Smoking is responsible for one-quarter of all deaths caused by fire.
Involuntary smoking is a cause of death and disease, including lung cancer, in healthy nonsmokers.
More than 80 percent of chronic obstructive lung diseases, including emphysema and chronic bronchitis, are attributable to smoking. Tobacco-related disease places a tremendous financial burden upon the persons with the disease, their families, the health care delivery system, and society as a whole. Cigarettes are the second most heavily advertised product in America today, after cars. But the tobacco industry needs to recruit 5000 new smokers every day to replace those who are lucky enough to quit or unlucky enough too die. They are our children.