Tobacco-Related Mortality

Overview

• More deaths are caused each year by tobacco use than by all deaths from human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), illegal drug use, alcohol use, motor vehicle injuries, suicides, and murders combined.^1,2
• Smoking cigarettes, pipes, or cigars increases the risk of dying from cancers of the lung, esophagus, larynx, and oral cavity.^3,4
• Smokeless tobacco is a known cause of human cancer.⁵ In addition, the nicotine in smokeless tobacco may increase the risk for sudden death from a condition where the heart does not beat properly (ventricular arrhythmias) and, as a result, the heart pumps little or no blood to the body's organs.⁵

Cigarettes and Death

Cigarette smoking causes about 1 of every 5 deaths in the United States each year.^1,6 Cigarette smoking is estimated to cause the following:¹

• 443,000 deaths annually (including deaths from secondhand smoke)
• 49,400 deaths per year from secondhand smoke exposure
• 269,655 deaths annually among men
• 173,940 deaths annually among women

Cigarette use causes premature death:

• On average, adults who smoke cigarettes die 14 years earlier than nonsmokers.⁷
• Based on current cigarette smoking patterns, an estimated 25 million Americans who are alive today will die prematurely from smoking-related illnesses, including 5 million people younger than 18 years of age.⁸

Secondhand Smoke and Death

Exposure to secondhand smoke—sometimes called environmental tobacco smoke—causes nearly 50,000 deaths each year among adults in the United States:¹

• Secondhand smoke causes 3,400 annual deaths from lung cancer.¹
• Secondhand smoke causes 46,000 annual deaths from heart disease.^1,9,10

Increased Risk for Death Among Men

• Men who smoke increase their risk of dying from bronchitis by nearly 10 times, from emphysema by nearly 10 times, and from lung cancer by more than 22 times.^3,11
• Smoking triples middle-aged men's risk of dying from heart disease.¹¹

Increased Risk for Death Among Women

• Women who smoke increase their risk of dying from bronchitis by more than 10 times, from emphysema by more than 10 times, and from lung cancer by nearly 12 times.^3,11
• Between 1960 and 1990, deaths from lung cancer among women increased by more than 500%.¹²
• Smoking triples middle-aged women's risk of dying from heart disease.¹¹

Death from Specific Diseases

Tobacco use causes disease and death. Each year, smoking causes thousands of deaths from numerous diseases. The following table lists the estimated number of smokers who die each year from smoking-related diseases.¹

References

1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Smoking-Attributable Mortality, Years of Potential Life Lost, and Productivity Losses—United States, 2000–2004. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 2008;57(45):1226–8 [accessed 2011 Mar 11].
2. McGinnis J, Foege WH. Actual Causes of Death in the United States. Journal of American Medical Association 1993;270:2207–12 [cited 2011 Mar 11].
3. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Health Consequences of Smoking: A Report of the Surgeon General. Atlanta: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health, 2004 [accessed 2011 Mar 11].
4. National Cancer Institute. Cigars: Health Effects and Trends (PDF–2.93 MB). Smoking and Tobacco Control Monograph No. 9. Bethesda (MD): U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute, 1998. [accessed 2011 Mar 11].
5. World Health Organization. Smokeless Tobacco and Some Tobacco-Specific N-Nitrosamines (PDF–3.18 MB). International Agency for Research on Cancer Monographs on the Evaluation of Carcinogenic Risks to Humans Vol. 89. Lyon, (France): World Health Organization, International Agency for Research on Cancer, 2007 [accessed 2011 Mar 11].
6. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Health, United States. Hyattsville (MD): U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics. [accessed 2011 Mar 11].
7. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Annual Smoking-Attributable Mortality, Years of Potential Life Lost, and Economic Costs—United States, 1995–1999. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 2002;51(14):300–3 [accessed 2011 Mar 11]
8. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Perspectives in Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Smoking-Attributable Mortality and Years of Potential Life Lost—United States, 1984. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 1997;46(20):444–51 [accessed 2011 Mar 11].
9. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Health Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke: A Report of the Surgeon General . Atlanta: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Coordinating Center for Health Promotion, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health, 2006 [accessed 2011 Mar 11].
10. California Environmental Protection Agency. Environmental Tobacco Smoke: A Toxic Air Contaminant . Sacramento: California Environmental Protection Agency, Air Resources Board, 2006 [accessed 2011 Mar 11].
11. Novotny TE, Giovino GA. Tobacco Use. In: Brownson RC, Remington PL, Davis JR, editors. Chronic Disease Epidemiology and Control. Washington: American Public Health Association, 1998:117–48 [cited 2011 Mar 11].
12. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Mortality Trends for Selected Smoking-Related Cancers and Breast Cancer—United States, 1950–1990. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 1993;42(44):857,863–6 [accessed 2011 Mar 11].

For Further Information

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
Office on Smoking and Health
E-mail: tobaccoinfo@cdc.gov
Phone: 1-800-CDC-INFO

Media Inquiries: Contact CDC's Office on Smoking and Health press line at 770-488-5493.