Facts

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Tobacco Use in Virginia

High school students who smoke	19.7% (85,400)
Male high school students who use smokeless or spit tobacco	11.2% (females use much lower)
Kids (under 18) who become new daily smokers each year	8,700
Kids exposed to secondhand smoke at home	336,000
Packs of cigarettes bought or smoked by kids each year	19.9 million
Adults in Virginia who smoke	18.5% (1,137,200)

 

U.S. National Data (2009)

High school smoking rate	19.5%
Male high school students who use smokeless tobacco	15%
Adult smoking rate	19.3%

Nationwide, youth smoking has declined dramatically since the mid-1990s, but that decline appears to have slowed considerably or even stopped in recent years.

 

Deaths in Virginia From Smoking

Adults who die each year from their own smoking	9,200
Kids now under 18 and alive in Virginia who will ultimately die prematurely from smoking	152,000
Adult nonsmokers who die each year from exposure to secondhand smoke	1,160

Smoking kills more people than alcohol, AIDS, car crashes, illegal drugs, murders, and suicides combined -- and thousands more die from other tobacco-related causes -- such as fires caused by smoking (more than 1,000 deaths/year nationwide) and smokeless tobacco use. No good estimates are currently available, however, for the number of Virginia citizens who die from these other tobacco-related causes, or for the much larger numbers who suffer from tobacco-related health problems each year without actually dying.

 

Smoking-Caused Monetary Costs in Virginia

Annual health care costs in Virginia directly caused by smoking	$2.08 billion
Portion covered by the state Medicaid program	$401 million
Residents' state & federal tax burden from smoking-caused government expenditures	$558 per household
Smoking-caused productivity losses in Virginia	$2.53 billion

Amounts do not include health costs caused by exposure to secondhand smoke, smoking-caused fires, spit tobacco use, or cigar and pipe smoking. Other non-health costs from tobacco use include residential and commercial property losses from smoking-caused fires (more than $500 million per year nationwide); extra cleaning and maintenance costs made necessary by tobacco smoke and litter (about $4+ billion nationwide for commercial establishments alone); and additional productivity losses from smoking-caused work absences, smoking breaks, and on-the-job performance declines and early termination of employment caused by smoking-caused disability or illness (dollar amount listed above is just from productive work lives shortened by smoking-caused death).