Smoking is a habit that is not only a serious health hazard, but is also heavy on health care costs. It's easy for smokers to deny what a harmful habit they've acquired – until it's too late.

If you smoke, or if you care about someone who does, consider these facts and take steps to quit or to support someone who should.

• In the United States, an estimated 26.3 million men (25.2 percent) and 21.2 million women (20.7 percent) are smokers.
• Smoking statistics put forth by the American Council on Science and Health indicate that cigarette smoking is the leading cause of preventable death in the United States and that almost 500,000 deaths per year are attributable to cigarette smoking (that's one of every five deaths).
• Smoking is not only a dangerous and destructive habit; it's also an expensive one. Smokers who smoke a pack a day (at $4 a pack) are spending $1,460 per year on cigarettes. At two packs a day, that's $2,920 wasted on cigarettes each year.
• Secondhand smoke causes about 3,000 deaths each year from lung cancer in people who don't smoke.
• There are an estimated 150,000 to 300,000 cases every year of infections such as bronchitis and pneumonia in infants and children under 18 months of age who breathe secondhand smoke. These cases result in between 7,500 and 15,000 hospitalizations!

The U.S. Surgeon General's 2004 Report, The Health Consequences of Smoking, includes these findings:

• After one year off cigarettes, the excess risk of heart disease caused by smoking is reduced by half. After 15 years of abstinence, the risk is similar to that for people who've never smoked.
• In 5 to 15 years, the risk of stroke for ex-smokers returns to the level of those who've never smoked.
• Male smokers who quit between ages 35 and 39 add an average of five years to their lives. Female quitters in this age group add three years. Men and women who quit at ages 65 to 69 increase their life expectancy by one year.

By quitting now, you or a loved one can greatly reduce the risk for lung cancer, heart disease and stroke, among other things, as well as associated costs.

Additional Resources:

UPSer’s and their spouses can take a health assessment that offers an in-depth assessment of your lifestyle and factors that impact your health status. This will give you an opportunity to see your health in a big picture. Doing so can help you prioritize the kinds of health changes you may need to consider, and which health changes you may be ready and confident to make.

Click here for more information on the Health Assessment.

Sources: American Council on Science and Health, 2004; American Heart Association, 2004; American Lung Association, 2004, U.S. Surgeon General's 2004 Report, The Health Consequences of Smoking.