Smoking Facts
The following smoking facts were taken from the American Lung Association site in November 2003.
- Smoking relates diseased claim an estimated 440,000 American lives each year.
- Cigarettes contain at least 69 cancer-causing chemicals.
- Smoking is directly related to 87 percent of lung cancer.
- Smoking is a major factor in coronary heart disease and stroke.
- Nicotine is an addictive drug.
- Smoking by parents is associated with a wide range of adverse effects in children: asthma, ear infections, and sudden infant death syndrome. An estimated 150,000 to 300, 000 cases of lower respiratory tract infections in children less then 18 months of age, resulting in 7,500 to 15,000 annual hospitalizations, are caused by second hand smoke.
- Second hand smoke is responsible for approximately 3,000 lung cancer deaths annually in the U.S.
- More women die of lung cancer than any other cancer in the U.S.
