Facts about Tobacco in General and Smoking
Tobacco in General:
- 1 in 5 West Virginians will die from tobacco related illnesses.
- 1200 people die from tobacco every day.
Smoking & Secondhand Smoke:- Secondhand smoke fills the air with many of the same chemicals found in the air around toxic waste dumps.
- Children and teens who smoke are less physically fit and have more respiratory illnesses than their non-smoking peers.
- Secondhand smoke kills more than 3,000 non-smokers a year from lung cancer.
- Babies of women who smoke during pregnancy are more likely to have lower birth weights, an increased risk of death from sudden infant death syndrome, and respiratory distress.
- Secondhand smoke can produce 6 times the pollution of a busy highway, when in a crowded restaurant.
- If just 1% of West Virginia's smokers quit, the cost savings to the state PER YEAR would be around $24,338,232.
- West Virginia has the third highest adult smoking rate in the U.S. at 26.7%
Facts about Smokeless Tobacco
Facts about Dip, Chew, & Snuff:
- There are 28 known cancer causing carcinogens in smokeless tobacco.
- In one dip or chew, you find up to 5 times the amount of nicotine than in cigarettes.
- Some ingredients in smokeless tobacco: Formaldehyde (which is used to preserve dead animals), Arsenic (which is found in rat poison), Lead (which is associated with brain damage and diseases), Benzene (is a highly flammable substance that is used in gasoline and paints and long-term exposure is linked to leukemia. It can cause vomiting, rapid heart rate and reduce good red blood cells in your body).
- There are 15 to 20 more ingredients in smokeless tobacco that Big Tobacco refuses to tell us.
- There is also fiberglass in spit tobacco which is used to cut slits in your gum and lip to get the nicotine into your blood stream faster.