Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids

Rates of respiratory infections, including pneumonia and bronchitis, are significantly lower among former smokers than current smokers.

Quitting smoking lowers blood pressure and heart rate almost immediately.

Twenty-four hours after quitting smoking, the risk of heart disease begins to decline.

After quitting, the immune inflammation caused by smoking decreases, white blood cell counts return to normal, and immune function improves.

Many smokers begin to notice a decrease in respiratory symptoms like coughing and shortness of breath within one month of quitting smoking

Within two weeks of quitting smoking, lung function improves.

Nicotine, a critical component of e-cigarette aerosol, is known to suppress immune function throughout the body.

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Smokers have about twice the risk of contracting tuberculosis

Influenza risk is twice as high in smokers compared with nonsmokers

Smokers have two to four times the risk of pneumococcal diseases like pneumonia and meningitis than nonsmokers.

Smoking harms the immune system and therefore the body’s ability to fight infection. This impairment occurs in two different ways.

Smoking increases susceptibility to respiratory infections.

There is overwhelming evidence that people who smoke are at higher risk of getting viral and bacterial respiratory infections.

Smoking causes lung cancer, chronic obstructed pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma, and other respiratory diseases.

The lung diseases caused by smoking occur among smokers and non-smokers exposed to tobacco smoke alike.

The lung diseases caused by smoking are among the underlying conditions known to place people at greater risk of more severe illness when diagnosed with COVID-19.

Exposure to cigarette smoke causes airway inflammation. This inflammation and the resulting scar tissue damage the membranes that pass oxygen to the bloodstream.

Smoking damages the lungs and negatively impacts how well they function.

The lungs of smokers produce more and thicker mucus than the lungs of nonsmokers. This mucus is both difficult to remove and prone to infection.

Smoking inhibits and eventually destroys the cilia, the small hair-like cells in the airway that brush away dirt and other particles to protect the lungs.

26.6% of adults in China (301 million people) currently smoke tobacco.

50.5% of men in China currently smoke tobacco.

2.1% of women in China currently smoke tobacco.

28.6% of adults in India currently use tobacco.

10.7% of adults in India smoke cigarettes.

21.4% of adults in India use smokeless tobacco.

There are 1 billion smokers worldwide.

16.4% of adults in Mexico (10.9 million people) currently smoke.

98.1% of adults in Mexico believe smoking causes serious illness.

Women and children are disproportionately harmed by secondhand smoke due to their increased exposure from male smokers.

Smoke-free laws save lives, protect workers’ health, and immediately improve public health.

Exposure to secondhand smoke increases healthcare and medical costs.

Tobacco-related illnesses account for 1 in 10 adult deaths worldwide. By 2030, 80% of those deaths will be in developing countries.

According to the World Bank, Sub-Saharan Africa will be the region hardest-hit by the non-communicable disease crisis. If left unchecked, chronic diseases will account for 46% of all deaths by 2030, up from 28% in 2008. At the same time, these countries will continue to grapple with the widespread prevalence of communicable diseases such as HIV, malaria, tuberculosis, and mother and child conditions, thus facing a “double burden” of disease, further taxing already insufficient health systems and impacting economic growth.

There is no safe level of secondhand smoke exposure. Exposure to secondhand smoke causes death, disease, and disability among non-smoking adults and children.

Adults exposed to secondhand smoke in the workplace are at greater risk for developing tobacco-related health problems than adults who work in smoke-free environments.

There are more than 4,000 chemicals in tobacco smoke, of which at least 250 are known to be harmful and more than 50 are known to cause cancer.

A 2009 survey in China revealed that only 27% of smokers knew that smoking can cause strokes.

27.1% of adults in Turkey (14.8 million people) currently smoke tobacco.

41.5% of adult men in Turkey currently smoke tobacco.

13.1% of adult women in Turkey currently smoke tobacco.

37.3% of adult men in Turkey currently smoke tobacco daily.

23.8% of smokers in Turkey (13 million adults) currently smoke tobacco daily.

10.7% of adult women in Turkey currently smoke tobacco daily.

1.1% of adult men in Turkey currently smoke using water pipes.

0.5% of adult women in Turkey currently smoke using water pipes.

One in five adults (age 16+) in the United Kingdom smoke.

36.1% of adults in Indonesia (61.4 million people) currently use tobacco.

67.4% of adult men in Indonesia currently use tobacco.