Cigarette smoking remains the leading cause of preventable disease, disability, and death in the United States, accounting for about 1 in 5 deaths each year. Women are more susceptible to smoking-related diseases such as lung cancer and heart disease, as well as sex specific health consequences of smoking such as infertility and cervical cancer.

Women tend to have a harder time quitting cigarettes,  and research demonstrates that popular treatments like nicotine replacement patches are much more effective for men. In addition to having greater difficulty quitting, women also experience a heavier health burden from smoking.

Smoking is a serious health threat for everyone, but it’s especially dangerous for people living with HIV. Smoking raises your risk for heart disease, cancer, serious lung diseases and infections such as pneumonia, and other illnesses. People with HIV are more likely to develop these harmful consequences of smoking than those without HIV.

Quitting smoking is one of the most important actions people can take to improve their health. This is true regardless of their age or how long they have been smoking.

Just the Facts:

  • Cigarette smoking alone kills more than 480,000 Americans each year.

  • 16 million Americans are living with at least one serious smoking-related disease.

  • For every person who dies because of smoking, at least 30 people live with a serious smoking-related illness.

  • Unfortunately, an estimated 28.3 million adults in the United States still smoke cigarettes.

  • Cigarette smoking cost the United States more than $600 billion in 2018, including more than $240 billion in healthcare spending and nearly $372 billion in lost productivity.

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