Tobacco Use in Nebraska
|
High school students who smoke |
22.3% (23,200) |
|
Male high school students who use
smokeless or spit tobacco |
NA (females use
much lower) |
|
Kids (under 18) who become new daily
smokers each year |
2,200 |
|
Kids exposed to secondhand smoke at
home |
96,000 |
|
Packs of cigarettes bought or smoked
by kids each year |
5.4 million |
|
Adults in Nebraska who smoke |
16.7% (224,600) |
Nationwide, youth smoking has declined dramatically since
the mid-1990s, but that decline has slowed considerably in recent years. The
smoking rate among high school students - 20 percent in 2007 - has not declined
significantly since 2003, following a 40 percent decline between 1997 and 2003,
from 36.4 percent to 21.9 percent.
In addition, 13.4 percent of U.S. high school males
currently use spit tobacco. U.S. adult smoking increased slightly to 20.6
percent (about 46 million) in 2008 from 19.8 percent in 2007, the first
increase in adult smoking rate since 1994.
Deaths in Nebraska From Smoking
|
Adults who die each year from their
own smoking |
2,200 |
|
Kids now under 18 and alive in
Nebraska who will ultimately die prematurely from smoking |
36,000 |
|
Adult nonsmokers who die each year from
exposure to secondhand smoke |
280 |
Smoking kills more people than alcohol, AIDS, car
crashes, illegal drugs, murders, and suicides combined -- and thousands more
die from other tobacco-related causes -- such as fires caused by smoking (more
than 1,000 deaths/year nationwide) and smokeless tobacco use. No good estimates
are currently available, however, for the number of Nebraska citizens who die
from these other tobacco-related causes, or for the much larger numbers who
suffer from tobacco-related health problems each year without actually dying.
Smoking-Caused Monetary Costs in Nebraska
|
Annual health care costs in Nebraska
directly caused by smoking |
$537 million |
|
- Portion covered by the state
Medicaid program |
$134 million |
|
Residents' state & federal tax
burden from smoking-caused government expenditures |
$576 per household |
|
Smoking-caused productivity losses in
Nebraska |
$500 million |
Amounts do not include health costs caused by
exposure to secondhand smoke, smoking-caused fires, spit tobacco use, or cigar
and pipe smoking. Other non-health costs from tobacco use include residential
and commercial property losses from smoking-caused fires (more than $500
million per year nationwide); extra cleaning and maintenance costs made
necessary by tobacco smoke and litter (about $4+ billion nationwide for
commercial establishments alone); and additional productivity losses from
smoking-caused work absences, smoking breaks, and on-the-job performance
declines and early termination of employment caused by smoking-caused
disability or illness (dollar amount listed above is just from productive work
lives shortened by smoking-caused death).
Tobacco Industry Influence in Nebraska
|
Annual tobacco industry marketing expenditures
nationwide |
$12.8 billion |
|
Estimated portion spent for Nebraska
marketing each year |
$72.1 million |
Published research studies have found that kids are
twice as sensitive to tobacco advertising than adults and are more likely to be
influenced to smoke by cigarette marketing than by peer pressure, and that
one-third of underage experimentation with smoking is attributable to tobacco
company advertising.
