Facts

It's hard to imagine a killer could be so cool, but for decades few dirty habits were as sophisticated and sexy as "taking a drag off death." No longer - Surgeon General reports, lawsuits, state laws and a successful anti-smoking movement have made smoking only slightly less despised than halitosis. Still millions of Americans smoke. Advocates would bring down the number of smokers even further, while a scant number of libertarians think the war on smokers has gone far enough.

how many of us are smoking

• 44.5 million adults CDC

over the years - % of high school seniors and adults who smoke

source: CDC (copied and pasted)

death and disease

Smoking kills:

• 440 thousand Americans a year (CDC) (out of about 2.5. million deaths - CDC - pdf)

• 100 thousand Americans a year (Heartland)

how those smoking related deaths pan out

source: CDC

Second hand smoke...

• causes 3,000 nonsmoking Americans to die of lung cancer a year (EPA, CDC)

• causes 35,000 to die of heart disease (CDC)

• causes 150,000–300,000 cases of lower respiratory tract infections in children under 18 months (EPA, CDC)

• increases the chances of infants getting (ACSH)

  • asthma by 100%

  • a middle ear infection by 62%

  • a lower respiratory disease by 75%

• has a risk ratio of 1.19 (Heartland) (not sure what that means, but Heartland argues that the relative risks are minimal)

• being exposed to a pack a day smoker is like smoking 1/8th of a cigarette a day (CRS - '95)

Costs

• $75 billion per year in medical expenditures (CDC)

• $92 billion per year resulting from lost productivity (CDC)

state laws

• number of states that restrict smoking in public places: 46 (2005 - ALA - pdf)

• number of states that restrict smoking in private workplaces: 41 (2005 - ALA - pdf)

taxes

federal tax on cigarettes

• 39 cents a pack (TFK)

how much states are taxing cigarettes (2005 - ALA - pdf)

• median average: 80 cents; mean average: 70 cents (TFK)

• highest tax: $2.46 in Rhode Island

• lowest tax: 7 cents in South Carolina

states raise

• $13 billion in taxes on tobacco products (out of $648 billion in total state taxes) 2005 Census

hitting the poor the hardest -

percent who smoke: (1995 - CBPP - pdf)

• 29% of adults with family incomes below $15,000 and

• 27% of adults with family incomes between $15,000 and $25,000

• 17% of adults with family incomes above $50,000.

how much they spend:

• the poorest 1/4 of Americans: 3.2% of their income

• the richest 1/4 of Americans: 0.4% of their income

taxes save lives (1995 - CBPP - pdf)

• a 25% hike in cigarette prices from taxes leads to an 11% drop in cigarette consumption (in the short term - in the longer term studies suggest there's an even bigger drop).

timeline

• 1964 - Surgeon General says cigarettes cause cancer (UM)

• 1965 - Congress requires warning labels on cigarettes (UM)

• 1971 - tv ads for cigarettes are banned

• 1988 - Congress bans smoking on short domestic flights of two hours or less - in 1990 goes up to flights of six hours or less (UM)

• 1988 - the Surgeon General says nicotine is an addictive substance

• 1992 - first federal law requiring states restrict sales of cigarettes to minors (UM)

• 1993 - EPA classifies second hand smoke as a carcinogen (UM)

• 1995 - the FDA calls cigarettes "drug delivery devices" and proposes regs on marketing and sales (ACSH)

• 1998 - 46 states and tobacco industry agree on Master Settlement - states drop their lawsuits in exchange for $200 billion over 20 years (but likely to end up being lower due to drop in smoking and other reasons). 4 other states had already settled in separate case for $40 billion.

• 2000 - Supreme Court rules that the FDA can't regulate tobacco products until Congress says so (ACSH)

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