Tobacco Free Living

Smoking remains the single largest preventable cause of death and disease in the United States, killing more than 480,000 Americans each year. More than 41,000 of these deaths are from exposure to secondhand smoke.

In Virginia, the cost of tobacco use is substantial. About 10,300 adults die each year from smoking, 1,600 non-smokers die each year due to second hand smoke, and 6,900 children have lost a parent to smoking related death. Given current smoking levels, 152,000 kids living today will ultimately die of smoking.

The financial burden is also staggering. In Virginia, annual healthcare costs directly caused by tobacco use are $3.61 billion. Our state and federal taxes allocated to cover smoking related cost is $861 per household.

CDC Tips Campaign

The personal stories shared in the  Tips From Former Smokers®  (Tips®) ads are compelling and communicate in a very human way that smoking causes immediate damage to your body and that the damage can happen at a young age and be severe. Smokers told us that they needed to see and hear what it would be like to live with the health consequences of smoking.