Louis Sullivan, former US Health and Human Service Secretary. New Jersey - 151,773 or an average of 12.0 years for each death due to smoking.
Smoking is responsible for one out of five American deaths.
Smoking Kills more people than cocaine, heroine, alcohol, fire, automobile accidents, homicides, suicides, and AIDS combined. Reports of the Surgeon General have concluded that smoking increases mortality and morbidity in both men and women. Disease associations identified as causal include coronary heart disease, atherosclerotic peripheral vascular disease, lung and laryngeal cancer, oral cancer, esophageal cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, intrauterine growth retardation and low-birthweight babies. Cigarette smoking is now considered to be a probable cause of unsuccessful pregnancies, increased infant mortality. 27.3 percent of youths in grades 9 - 12 smoke in New Jersey.