Smoking Cessation

(from University of Rhode Island)

• From 1993 to 1997, current (30-day) cigarette smoking rose by 27.8% in the college population.
• 28.5% of college students are current smokers.
• Seniors and 5th year students smoked less than younger students.
• Average age students said they tried their first cigarette was 14.
• 1/3 of smokers consider themselves "casual users".
• Tobacco use is higher among binge drinkers, students who have multiple sex partners or have "a strong party orientation".

(from Center for Disease Control)

• Worldwide, tobacco use causes more than 5 million deaths per year.
• Current trends show that tobacco use will cause more than 8 million deaths annually by 2030.
• Cigarette smoking is the leading preventable cause of death in the United States.
• In the United States, cigarette smoking is responsible for about 443,000 deaths per year.
• An estimated 49,000 of these deaths are the result of secondhand smoke exposure.
• On average, smokers die 13 to 14 years earlier than nonsmokers.
• Cigarette smoking increases the length of time that people live with a disability by about 2 years.
• Annually, cigarette smoking costs more than $193 billion
• Health care costs associated with exposure to secondhand smoke average $10 billion annually.
• Approximately 19.8% of U.S. adults (43.4 million people) are current cigarette smokers.
• Prevalence of cigarette smoking is highest among American Indians/Alaska Natives (36.4%), followed by African Americans (19.8%), whites (21.4%), Hispanics (13.3%), and Asians [excluding Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders](9.6%).
• Among adult smokers, 70% report that they want to quit completely, and more than 40% try to quit each year.

Are you trying to quit smoking? Check out these online resources:

• American Cancer Society
• Quit Now
• smokefree.gov
• Smoking and Tobacco Use Information

For more information about quitting smoking, please visit or call Health Services.