January 11, 2004 Marks the 40th Anniversary of the Inaugural Surgeon General's Report on Smoking and Health

Listen to a video introduction of the first Surgeon General's Report on Smoking and Health. You will need Real Player ® to view this video. Text Version

Statement from the CDC Director
Tobacco Prevalence Information Adult Smoking Prevalence, Teen Prevalence, Historical Adult Prevalence
Health Consequences of Tobacco Use
Economic Impact from Tobacco Use
Quitting Information
Tobacco Prevention Messages Tips for Youth, Parenting Brochure
Proven Strategies for Tobacco Control
History Details from the release of the 1964 Report

MMWR Report — 40th Anniversary of the First Surgeon General’s Report on Smoking and Health

Statement from the CDC Director

In the four decades following the release of the first Surgeon General’s Report on smoking and health, we have seen dramatic progress in reducing tobacco use in this country.

Adult smoking rates have been cut nearly in half between 1965 and 2001, from 42.4 percent to 22.8 percent, and per capita consumption of tobacco products has fallen more than half, from 4,345 cigarettes in 1963 to 1,979 cigarettes in 2002.

But, tragically, smoking remains the leading preventable cause of death and disease in the United States, claiming the lives of more than 440,000 Americans each year.

The good news is that we know what works to curb tobacco use: comprehensive programs combining school, healthcare, community, media, and policy efforts.

We must now commit ourselves to implementing in every state and locality these proven approaches to prevent youth from starting to smoke, to help smokers to quit, to protect people from secondhand smoke, and to eliminate tobacco-related disparities.

The health of our nation demands no less.

Julie Louise Gerberding, MD, MPH
Director, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Administrator, Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry

Tobacco Prevalence Information

Adult Smoking Prevalence:

• Smoking rates among adults have declined nearly 50 percent between 1965 and 2001, down from 42.4 percent to 22.8 percent.
• In 2001, 46.2 million adults in the United States were current smokers.
• During 1965–2001, smoking declined faster for non-Hispanic blacks ages 18 years and older than non-Hispanic whites the same age.
• In 2000–2001, for the first time, smoking prevalence among black men was similar to that among white men.
• In 2001, among racial and ethnic groups, smoking prevalence was highest among American Indians/Alaska Natives (32.7 percent) and lowest among Hispanics (16.7 percent) and Asians (12.4 percent).
  
  For more information:
  MMWR Highlights—Cigarette Smoking Among Adults—United States, 2001
  Historical Adult Smoking Prevalence Statistics

Teen Prevalence of Tobacco Use:

• Every day more than 4,000 young people try cigarettes for the first time.
• Tobacco use among high school students declined significantly from 34.5 percent in 2000 to 28.4 percent in 2002, continuing a downward national trend since 1997.
• Cigarette smoking, the most common use of tobacco among high school students, declined significantly from 28 percent in 2000 to 22.9 percent in 2002. There were no differences by gender for cigarette smoking among high school students in 2002.
• From 2000 to 2002, among middle school students, there was no significant decline in use of tobacco products overall (13.3 percent) or for any individual tobacco product.
• Among middle school students, males were more likely than females to use all of the tobacco products, except for cigarettes (10.2 percent and 10 percent respectively).
• Cigarettes (10.1 percent) were the most commonly used type of tobacco among middle school students in 2002.
• From 2000 to 2002, there were no significant declines in smoking rates for middle school students in all racial/ethnic groups.
  
  For more information:
  Tobacco Use among Middle and High School Students—United States, 2002

Health Consequences of Tobacco Use

• There have been more than 12 million deaths in the United States attributable to smoking since the first Surgeon General's report.
• An estimated 8.6 million people in the United States have at least one serious illness caused by smoking.
• Each year approximately 440,000 people in the United States die of a smoking-attributable illness, resulting in 5.6 million years of potential life lost and $82 billion in lost productivity from smoking.
• For every person who dies of a smoking attributable disease, there are 20 more people suffering with at least one serious illness from smoking.
• Among current smokers, chronic lung diseases account for 73% of smoking attributable conditions.
• Among former smokers, chronic lung diseases account for 50% of smoking attributable conditions, followed by heart attacks (24%).
• Excluding adult deaths from exposure to secondhand smoke, adult males and females lose an average of 13.2 and 14.5 years of life respectively, because they smoke.
• Among adults, most deaths are from lung cancer (124,813), ischemic heart disease (81,976) and chronic airway obstruction (64,735).
  
  For more information:
  MMWR Highlights — Cigarette Smoking-Attributable Morbidity — United States, 2000
  MMWR — Annual Smoking-Attributable Mortality, Years of Potential Life Lost, and Economic Costs — United States, 1995–1999

Economic Impact from Tobacco Use

• Estimates show that smoking causes over $150 billion in annual health-related economic losses, including $82 billion in lost productivity and $75 billion in excess medical expenditures.
• The economic costs of smoking are estimated to be about $3,391 per smoker per year.
• Each pack of cigarettes sold in the United States costs the nation an estimated $7.18 in medical care costs and lost productivity.
  
  For more information:
  MMWR — Annual Smoking-Attributable Mortality, Years of Potential Life Lost, and Economic Costs — United States, 1995–1999

Quitting Information

An estimated 70% of America’s 46.2 million smokers say they wanted to quit. In 2001, 41% stopped smoking at least one day because they wanted to quit; however, less than 5% were able to remain quit for 3-12 months.

For more information:
Cigarette Smoking Among Adults — United States, 2001

The following pages provide links on how to quit:

• How to Quit
• Tobacco Cessation Guideline The latest drugs and counseling techniques for treating tobacco use and dependence.

Tobacco Prevention Messages

• Tips for Youth
• Got A Minute? Give it to your kid

Proven Strategies for Tobacco Control

• CDC’s Best Practices for Comprehensive Tobacco Control Programs
• The Guide to Community Preventive Services Addresses the effectiveness of community-based interventions to promote tobacco use prevention and control
• Clinical Practice Guideline
  • Summary
  • Searchable Full Text
  • PDF Text (1 MB)

Events leading up to the release of the first Surgeon General's Report on Smoking and Health

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This page last reviewed June 02, 2004

United States Department of Health and Human Services
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
Office on Smoking and Health