Health Consequences of Cigarette Smoking 1

• During 2001, 16 percent of all deaths in Illinois are smoking attributable.
• During 2001, a total of 16,597 Illinois residents died from smoking-attributable causes, including cancer, heart diseases and respiratory diseases.
• During 1999, smoking was responsible for 9 percent of births short of gestation or low birth rate, 3 percent of newborn respiratory distress syndrome cases, 5 percent of all other newborn respiratory conditions, and 13 percent of sudden infant death syndrome cases.
• During 2000, more than 227, 600 years of potential life were lost due to premature death caused by smoking.

Economic Consequences of Cigarette Smoking 1

• In 1998, more than $3 billion was spent on smoking-attributed health care costs. That amounts to almost $300 for every man, woman, and child in Illinois.
• During 2001, Illinois estimated Medicaid expenditures totaled more than $7.6 billion. Nearly, $1.4 billion of this was for smoking-related causes. Illinois' share of the smoking-related Medicaid costs was almost $690 million.
• Based on 1998 figures, cigarette smoking is estimated to cost the state of Illinois nearly $3.206 billion in each year for smoking-attributable health care costs.
• During 2000, cigarette smoking is estimated to have cost the state of Illinois $3.529 billion in costs due to lost productivity.

Economic Impact of Smoking 1

Health Impact of Cigarette Smoking 1

• Of the 16,597 smoking-attributed deaths among Illinois residents during 2001, 5,864 were cardiovascular disease deaths; 6,789 were deaths from malignant neoplasms; and 3,944 were deaths from respiratory diseases attributed to smoking.
• A total of 10,053 males died from smoking-attributable diseases during 2001. The majority of smoking attributable diseases were from malignant neoplasms, followed by cardiovascular disease and respiratory diseases.
• A total of 6,544 females died from smoking-attributable disease during 2001. Smoking-attributable deaths among females were equally likely to be from cardiovascular disease or malignant neoplasms, with few deaths attributed to respiratory diseases.
• During 2000, a total of 227,659 years of potential life were lost due to premature death caused by smoking.
• During 2000, the majority of smoking-attributable years of potential life lost were due to malignant neoplasms, followed by cardiovascular disease and respiratory disease.

Health Impact of Cigarette Smoking, 2001 1

Tobacco-Use Prevalence

Tobacco-related Progress Markers 4

• The number of smoking attributed deaths decreased from 18,278 in 1999 to 16,597 in 2001, a percent change decrease of -9.2 percent.
• The number of years of potential life lost from smoking-related disease mortality decreased from 249,112 years in 1999 to 227,659 in 2000; a percent change decrease of -8.6 percent.
• The cost of lost productivity due to smoking decreased from $3,772 billion in 1999 to $3,529 billion in 2000; a percent change decrease of -6.4 percent.
• The combined costs of health-related expenditures and costs of lost productivity decreased from $575 per capita in 1999 to $542 per capita in 2000; a percent change decrease of -5.7 percent.

Data Sources

1. Tobacco Burden in Illinois, Illinois Department of Public Health, Office of Health Promotion, Division of Chronic Disease Prevention and Control, draft 2003
2. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). State-specific prevalence of current cigarette smoking among adults-United States, 2002. Morbidity & Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), 2004; 52:1277-80. Current smokers are defined as persons who reported ever smoking at least 100 cigarettes and who currently smoke every day or some days.
3. Illinois Youth Tobacco Survey, Office of Health Promotion, Division of Chronic Disease Prevention and Control, Illinois Department of Public Health, May 2003.
4. Tobacco-related Progress Markers, Illinois Department of Public Health, Office of Health Promotion, Division of Chronic Disease Prevention and Control, draft 2004