Tobacco use remains the leading preventable cause of death and disease in the United States, where smoking is responsible for nearly one out of five (443,000) deaths each year--more deaths than AIDS, alcohol, illegal drugs, auto accidents, homicides, and suicides combined.
Ball State's Global Health Institute partnered with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Behavior Risk Factor Surveillance System to produce a report, The Burden of Adult Smoking in Indiana (PDF), which documents the prevalence of cigarette smoking in the state and the effects of the addiction.
Smokers are at increased risk for stroke, heart disease, and multiple cancers, as smoking harms nearly every organ of the body.
No form of tobacco is safe. Smokeless tobacco products also contain toxic and carcinogenic chemicals detrimental to health.
Tobacco can also harm nonsmokers; exposure to secondhand smoke increases the risk of heart disease, cancer, or other illnesses.
Fortunately, many individuals want to quit and are capable of quitting. In 2012, more than 50 percent of the Hoosiers who smoke reported attempting to quit during the past 12 months. Counseling and medication can more than double the chance that a smoker who tries to quit will succeed.
Sources: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Cancer Institute, and the American Lung Association