facebook
T.R.A.S.H.

Take the Challenge

How much do you know about smoking bans? Answer these questions and find out.

Newspaper boxes

DID YOU KNOW?

If you live in Maryland, and smoke one pack of cigarettes a day you’ll end up spending $1,422 a year on cigarettes. Think of all the things you could do with that money!

 

READ MORE

The Numbers

Raised hands
View Resources
Act Now

In the U.S.

  • Smoking costs the U.S. more than $193 billion each year: $97 billion in productivity losses and $96 billion in smoking-related medical costs.
  • Secondhand smoke exposure costs the U.S. more than $4.98 billion each year.
  • The tobacco industry spends $12.8 billion ($35+ million/day) on marketing in the U.S. each year.

 

In the state of Maryland

  • Smoking-related adult medical costs were estimated at $1.96 billion. (2004)
  • Secondhand smoke-related medical costs were estimated at $595.7 million. (2005)
  • The annual cost for smoking by pregnant women was more than $3.1 million in 2004.
  • Achieving Maryland’s goal of a sustained 50% reduction in smoking from year 2000 levels could mean yearly savings of $968.2 billion for the state.
  • This doesn’t even take into account the human cost: 6,800 Marylanders die prematurely and 150,000 become sick each year due to tobacco related diseases.

More Numbers…

1. Your personal cost

The cost of a pack of cigarettes varies by State. Currently, the State cigarette tax in MD is $2.00 and the final retail price (what you pay in a store) is $5.52. If you’re a smoker, those numbers really add up.

Think of all the things you could buy—or do—with that money!

2. Who is using tobacco?

     • 16.2% of Maryland high school and middle school students use some form of tobacco product. (2008)
     • 15.3% of Maryland high school students smoke cigarettes. (2008)
     • 3.5% of Maryland middle school students smoke cigarettes. (2008)

3. The Good News

Between 2000 and 2006, there was an 18% decrease in tobacco use.

Between 2000 and 2006, there was a 35% increase in the percentage of adults who were successful in quitting using tobacco products.

 

references

BACK TO TOP

references

  1. Kenneth E Warner, Thomas A Hodgson, Caitlin E Carroll, Medical costs of smoking in the United States: estimates, their validity, and their implications, Tobacco Control 1999;8:290–300.
  2. The smoking material fire problem. John R. Hall. Fire analysis and research division NFPA. May 2003.
  3. MMWR 2002;51:300-303
  4. Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids. State Cigarette Prices, Taxes, and Costs Per Pack. Retrieved November 9, 2007 from http://tobaccofreekids.org/research/factsheets/pdf/0207.pdf
  5. 2000-2008 Monitoring Changing Tobacco Use Behaviors; Youth Prevalence fromhttp://crf.maryland.gov/pdf/2009crf_biennial_tobacco_legis_rpt_AppendixA.pdf

close references