Media Center: Tobacco Facts

Secondhand Smoke

In Louisiana, approximately 690 adults die each year due to secondhand smoke exposure.
Coalition for Tobacco-Free Kids, 2009.

Annually, an estimated 35,000 nonsmokers die from coronary health disease in the United States as a result of exposure to secondhand smoke.
CDC. Annual smoking-attributable mortality, years of potential life lost, and economic costs—United States, 1995-1999. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 2002;51(14):300-303.

Secondhand smoke is a complex mixture of more than 4,000 chemicals, at least 60 of which are known to cause cancer.
National Cancer Institute. Health Effects of Exposure to Environment Tobacco Smoke. Smoking and Tobacco Control Monograph No. 10. Bethesda, MD: US Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute; 1999.

Bar and casino workers are exposed to the highest levels of secondhand smoke of any occupational or demographic group levels 300-600% higher than other workers exposed to secondhand smoke on the job.
Stanton A Glantz, PhD, University of California, San Francisco.

Bartenders and casino workers involuntarily inhale enough secondhand smoke every day to suffer some identical health effects observed in pack-a-day smokers.
www.tobaccoscam.ucsf.edu; Stanton A. Glantz, PhD, University of California, San Francisco.

African-Americans and Tobacco

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Louisiana ranks second among the states with the largest percentage of African-American smokers at 27%, behind Michigan.
Compiled from: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, American Legacy Foundation,

In the South, tobacco accounts for 67% of cancer deaths in African-American men.
Louisiana Office of Public Health & U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, American Journal of Public Health.

Three out of four adult African-American smokers prefer to smoke menthol cigarettes (75% of African-American smokers smoke menthol cigarettes compared to 23% of White smokers) and 60% of African-American youth smokers prefer menthol cigarettes.
Philip Morris, July 1974. A Study of Smoking Habits Among Young Smokers, Bates No. 2024921279, http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/brp34e00.

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Population and Tobacco

LGBT are 40-70% more likely to smoke the population has one of the highest smoking rates of all the disproportionately affected subpopulations.
American Cancer Society. Tobacco and the GLBT Community.

The American Cancer Society estimates that over 30,000 LGBT people die each year of tobacco related diseases.
American Cancer Society. Tobacco and the GLBT Community.

Women and Tobacco

Six years after the introduction of Virginia Slims and other brands aimed at the female market, the smoking initiation rate of 12-year-old girls had increased by 110 percent. Increases among teenage girls of other ages were also substantial. In Louisiana, 1 in 5 middle school girls have smoked a whole cigarette before turning 15 years old.(Louisiana Youth Tobacco Survey, 2008).
Pierce, JP, Lee, L, & Gilpin EA, Smoking initiation by adolescent girls, 1944 through 1988: An association with targeted advertising, Journal
of the American Medical Association (JAMA) 271:8, 1994.

Each year more than 178,000 U.S. women die from smoking-related causes.
CDC Annual Smoking-Attributable Mortality, Years of Potential Life Lost, and Economic Costs United States 1997-2001, MMWR 54(25):625-628, July 1, 2005.

Nationally, more than one out of every five high school girls is a current smoker (23 percent) and 18 percent of women still smoke. In Louisiana, 18.8% of high school girls and 17.3% of women smoke. Louisiana Youth Tobacco Survey, 2008. Louisiana Adult Tobacco Survey, 2008.

Young Adults and Tobacco

Nationally, college-age students, 18-24, have the highest smoking rate among all age groups. In Louisiana, the smoking prevalence for the 18-24 age group is 26.1% which is higher than the overall adult prevalence of 22.6%. Louisiana BRFSS, 2007.

Approximately 42% of college students that have ever tried smoking continue on to become regular smokers.
Rigotti N, Lee J, and Wechsler H. US College Students Use of Tobacco Products: Results of a National Survey. Journal of the American Medical Association. 284:6, (2000): 699-705. Abstract available online at: http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/short/284/6/699.
Everett S, Husten C, Kann L, Warren C, Sharp D, and Crossett L. Smoking Initiation and Smoking Patterns Among US College Students. Journal of American College Health. 48 (1999):55-60.
Louisiana Youth Tobacco Survey, 2008.

Over the course of a four-year college period, one in five social smokers becomes daily smokers. One in three remain occasional smokers.
Patterson F, Lerman C, Kaufmann VG, Neuner GA, Audrain-McGovern J. Cigarette smoking practices among American college students: review and future directions. J Am Coll Health 2004; 52:203-210.

Youth and Tobacco

In Louisiana 6,600 children become new daily smokers each year.
Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, 2008

Children in Louisiana buy / smoke 14.8 million packs of cigarettes each year.
Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, 2008

90% of adult smokers begin while in their teens or earlier with two-thirds becoming regular smokers before they reach the age of 19.
Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, 2008

In Louisiana alone, the tobacco industry spends more than $291.5 million on marketing annually.
Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, 2008

Cessation

In the past year, 46.2% of Louisiana smokers stopped smoking for at least a day in an attempt to quit smoking.
Adult Tobacco Survey, 2007/2008

29.7% of those who at least made a quit attempt in the last year used an aid such as a nicotine patch, nicotine gum, or another medication; 6.4% used assistances classes or counseling. Adult Tobacco Survey, 2007/2008

55.5% of Louisiana smokers report seriously considering stopping smoking with the next six months. Adult Tobacco Survey, 2007/2008

73.4% of adult smokers in Louisiana, who saw a healthcare professional in the past year, reported being advised not to smoke by that healthcare provider; 57.6% reported pursing cessation treatment options with their healthcare provider. Adult Tobacco Survey, 2007/2008