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TOBACCO KILLS 16,500 IN STATE; ECONOMIC DAMAGE IN BILLIONS
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Tobacco-related illnesses take the lives of more
than 16,500 Illinois residents each year and cost the state $6.7 billion
annually in medical care and lost productivity, according to Dr. Eric E.
Whitaker, state public health director.
"The cost of smoking to all of us is staggering, both in terms of the
many years of productive lives lost and in the high price for direct and
indirect health care costs," Dr. Whitaker said. "While progress has
been made since the Surgeon General first reported on the harmful effects of
tobacco 40 years ago, there is still much to do to reach the goal of
tobacco-free generations.
"We need to protect our children from the social and cultural
influences that can lead to tobacco addiction, smokers must be encouraged to
quit as soon as possible and we need to ensure nonsmokers are protected from
secondhand smoke."
Dr. Whitaker released statistics that showed 16,597 Illinoisans died in 2001
(the most recent year with complete statistics), or 16 percent of all deaths,
due to smoking-attributable causes, including cancer, heart diseases and
respiratory diseases. That is down 9.2 percent from nearly 18,500 deaths, or
almost 18 percent of all deaths reported in 1999.
In 2001, there were 5,864 cardiovascular diseases deaths, 6,789 deaths from
malignant neoplasms and 3,944 deaths from respiratory diseases linked to
smoking. A total of 10,053 men and 6,544 women died from diseases linked to
smoking.
The national release today of the 2004 U.S. Surgeon General's Report: The
Health Consequences of Smoking, reveals for the first time that smoking causes
diseases in nearly every organ of the body. These new findings would most
likely increase deaths in Illinois attributable to smoking.
"People's lives are literally going up in smoke due to an addiction
with tobacco," Dr. Whitaker said. "Our hope is these sobering
statistics and the attention given to World No Tobacco Day (May 31) will
encourage smokers to quit smoking for the benefit of themselves and their
families. No ifs. No ands. And no butts."
Nationally, the U.S. Surgeon General estimated that for every person who
dies of a smoking-related disease, there are 20 more people suffering with at
least one serious illness from smoking. Excluding adult deaths from exposure to
secondhand smoke, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control reports that adult males
and females lose an average of 13.2 and 14.5 years of life respectively,
because they smoke.
The $6.7 billion annual economic cost to Illinois is in terms of prevention,
diagnosis and treatment, and mortality and morbidity through lost income and
productivity for those who die prematurely or are disabled by smoking-related
illness. That total amounts to $542 per every man, woman and child in the
state.
The Illinois Department of Public Health estimates that 22.9 percent of the
Illinois population 18 years of age and older in 2002 are smokers - about 25
percent of adult males and about 20 percent of adult females. The numbers of
Illinoisans who smoke has been dropping. For example, 15 years ago, 26.5
percent of the adults in Illinois smoked.
Dr. Whitaker said that quitting smoking has immediate and long-term health
benefits, including a reduction of risks for disease and improving overall
health. Even quitting smoking at 65 years of age or older, he said, reduces by
nearly half a person's risk of dying of a smoking-related disease.
For those wanting assistance with kicking the habit, they can call the
Department's toll-free Illinois Tobacco Quitline at 866-QUIT-YES
(866-784-8937).
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Tobacco Burden in Illinois
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 Care Expenditures, 1998 |
$3.206 Billion |
| Lost Productivity, 2000 |
$3.529 Billion |
| Total Annual Costs |
$6.735 Billion |
| Annual per capita |
$542 |
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
| Cause of
Death |
Total
Deaths |
Deaths due to
Smoking |
% Deaths due to
Smoking |
| Cancer |
24,343 |
6,789 |
28% |
| Cardiovascular Disease |
40,290 |
5,864 |
15% |
| Respiratory Disease |
9,186 |
3,944 |
43% |
| ALL DEATHS |
104,858 |
16,597 |
16% |
Tobacco-Use Prevalence
| Adult Smokers 2
|
22.9% |
| High School Smokers 3 |
29.2% |
| Middle School Smokers 3 |
7.6% |
| Smoking during Pregnancy
1 |
12.5% |
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
- Tobacco Burden in Illinois, Illinois
Department of Public Health, Office of Health Promotion, Division of Chronic
Disease Prevention and Control, draft 2003
- 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.
- Illinois Youth Tobacco Survey, Office of
Health Promotion, Division of Chronic Disease Prevention and Control, Illinois
Department of Public Health, May 2003.
- Tobacco-related Progress Markers, Illinois
Department of Public Health, Office of Health Promotion, Division of Chronic
Disease Prevention and Control, draft 2004
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