The American Cancer Society's Prevention Study II estimated that smoking is related to approximately 400,000 U.S. deaths each year. According to the World Health Organization, three million people worldwide die each year as a result of smoking. In 1992, the number of smokers in the United States was 48 million. The current economic and political climate dictate cutbacks and or downsizing of every aspect of business within the public sector. Healthcare can not be exempt from such a trend, especially since its budget has been predicted to exceed greater than 1.5 trillion dollars by the year 2000.
Money has and continues to be the primary motivator for one of our nation's leading industries.