Tobacco use is the leading cause of premature death in the United States. Over 430,000 premature deaths each year are a result of smoking related illnesses including chronic lung disease, coronary heart disease, and stroke as well as cancer of the lungs, larynx, esophagus, mouth, and bladder. This accounts for one out of five deaths, and twice the number of deaths caused by AIDS, alcohol, motor vehicles, homicide, drugs, and suicide combined. Smoking causes or contributes to a variety of debilitating physical and medical problems. Chronic coughing, emphysema, and bronchitis are products of smoking, and smokers are more susceptible to influenza.
Smokers are more likely to suffer from periodontal disease.
Smoking can also cause the early onset of menopause among women, incontinence, and reduced fertility, and increases the risk of impotence by 50 percent. Approximately 5 million American children smoke. And each day, another 3,000 children become regular smokers. One out of every three of these children will eventually die from tobacco-related causes. The market for cigarettes is maintained by marketing tobacco products to young people who can replace older smokers who die or quit.