DC Tobacco Statistics and Facts
The Toll of Tobacco in the District of Columbia
D.C. Tobacco Use
Overall Smoking Prevalence in DC 16.2% (down 20% since 2006)
High School Students who smoke 9.2%
Kids (under 18) who use smokeless or spit tobacco 5.6%
Kids (under 18) who bought their own cigarettes 25.8%
Kids (under 18) who become new daily smokers each year 500
Kids exposed to secondhand smoke at home 40,000
Packs of cigarettes bought or smoked by kids each year 0.8 million
Adults in Washington, DC, who smoke 17.9%
Deaths in Washington, DC From Smoking
Adults who die each year from their own smoking 720
Kids now under 18 and alive in Washington, DC, who will
ultimately die prematurely from smoking 8,000
Adult nonsmokers who die each year from exposure to secondhand smoke 40 to 120
Smoking-Caused Monetary Costs in Washington, DC
Annual health care costs in Washington, DC directlty caused
by smoking $243 million
Residents’ state & federal tax burden from smoking-caused
government expenditures $609 per household
Smoking-caused productivity losses in Washington, DC $233 million
Tobacco Industry Influence in Washington, DC
Annual tobacco industry marketing expenditures nationwide $13.4 billion
Estimated portion spent for Washington, DC marketing each year $14.7 million
* Kids are twice as sensitive to tobacco advertising than adults and are more likely to be influenced to smoke by marketing than peer pressure, and one-third of underage experimentation with smoking is attributed to tobacco company advertising.
Source: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
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