Statement of the American Cancer Society on New CDC Smoking Mortality Report

American Cancer Society
Friday, 12 April 2002

The following is a statement by John R. Seffrin, PhD, Chief Executive Officer of the American Cancer Society regarding the release of a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on the smoking-attributable mortality.

"According to a new report released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) today, smoking-related health care costs are skyrocketing. Between 1993 and 1998, direct costs attributed to smoking rose 42 percent to nearly $76 billion a year. These are costs we all pay in higher taxes to fund government health care programs, like Medicare, and in higher health insurance premiums. Our economic health is impacted in lost wages and lower productivity. According to the CDC, smoking caused over $150 billion in annual health-related economic losses between 1995 and 1999, including productivity losses of over $80 billion per year.

"The highest price of all is paid by the families of smokers, who must watch loved ones suffer from any number of deadly tobacco-related diseases. Particularly alarming is the CDC's assertion that if current trends continue, 6.4 million of our children will not live full lives because of tobacco. Tobacco prevention programs and cigarette tax increases are proven ways that we can stop youth smoking. Kids should be hooked on phonics, not cigarettes.

"Cigarette smoking is the single most preventable cause of premature death in the United States. Initiatives that help people quit smoking or prevent them from ever starting are crucial investments we must continue to make, even in tough economic times. The sad irony is that by trying to save money by cutting programs that help people quit smoking or prevent them from starting in the first place, we will eventually be stuck with an even bigger bill as those who might have stopped or refrained from smoking need medical care.

"Each year, more than 400,000 Americans die from cigarette smoking. In fact, one in every five deaths in the United States is smoking related. The price we pay, financially and especially in human lives, is too high."

The American Cancer Society is the nationwide community-based voluntary health organization dedicated to eliminating cancer as a major health problem by preventing cancer, saving lives and diminishing suffering from cancer, through research, education, advocacy and service.

For information about cancer, call toll-free anytime 1-800-ACS-2345 or visit the American Cancer Society website.

For more information, or to contact American Cancer Society, see their website at: www.cancer.org