An estimated 435,000 Americans die from tobacco-related diseases each year. Tobacco use is epidemic.
Tobacco use is the number one public health problem in the nation and in Colorado.
In Colorado, approximately 916,000 people smoke, with steady increases among young adults aged 18 to 24 years from 1991 to 1997. Our children are at risk and addicted. Smoking or exposure to environmental tobacco smoke during pregnancy can result in low birth weight infants, and sadly, Colorado has one of the highest low birth weight rates in the country. Tobacco use among high school seniors is at a 19-year high. Tobacco-use reduction programs in Colorado work.