Dangers of Tobacco

Tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable death in the United States, including Maryland.

• 1 in 5 Marylanders (22.0% of youth and 21.8% of adults) use one or more types of tobacco (cigarettes, smokeless tobacco, cigars, pipes, bidis, or kreteks).
• Only 3 of 24 Maryland counties (Howard, Montgomery, and Prince George's) have current nicotine use rates for both underage youth and adults that fall below statewide averages.
• Baltimore City has the highest percentage of tobacco use among adults (31.4%).
• 12,800 Maryland youth become regular smokers each year.
• The prevalence of young tobacco users is highest in Somerset County (33.9%).
• In 1999, smoking took the lives of about 7,000 people in Maryland.
• If current smoking rates continue, it's projected that almost 105,000 of today's youth in Maryland will die from smoking.
• Smoking is a major cause of cancers of the lung, mouth, pharynx, larynx, esophagus, pancreas, uterine, cervix, kidney, and bladder.
• Secondhand smoke kills at least 1,000 Marylanders each year. It's no surprise why. Secondhand smoke contains more than 4,000 chemical compounds, more than 40 of which are known to cause cancer.
• About 270,000 Maryland youth are exposed to secondhand smoke in their homes.
• Nationwide, secondhand smoke causes an estimated 3,000 lung cancer deaths in nonsmoking adults each year.
• Approximately 45,000 African Americans dies from preventable smoking related disease.
• If current trends continue, an estimated 1.6 million African Americans who are now under the age of 18 years will become regular smokers. About 500,000 of those smokers will die of smoking-related disease.

Information Sources

1. American Cancer Society (www.cancer.org)
2. Maryland-Smoking Stops Here Homepage (www.smokingstopshere.com)
3. Centers for Disease Control (www.cdc.gov/tobacco)