What could you be doing with the money you spend on tobacco? This tool will give you some ideas. You may be surprised at what you've given up in order to purchase cigarettes.

	Smoking harms nearly every organ in your body.
	Tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable death in the United States.
	Unlike so many other conditions or diseases, you have the power to protect yourself from smoking-related illnesses or death. The benefits of not smoking start within days of quitting.
	Cigarette smoking kills an estimated 178,000 women in the United States every year.
	An estimated one in five American women 18 years or older are current cigarette smokers.
	Since 1950, lung cancer deaths among women have increased by more than 600 percent.
	More than 6,000 people under the age of 18 years try their first cigarette each day.
	Every day, about 3,000 young people under the age of 18 become smokers.
	More than one out of every five high school girls is a current smoker.
	20 minutes after quitting, your blood pressure drops. The temperature in your hands and feet rises.
	8 hours after quitting, the carbon monoxide (a gas that can be toxic) in your blood drops to normal.
	24 hours after quitting, your chance of having a heart attack goes down.
	2 days after quitting, you can taste and smell things better.
	2 weeks to 3 months after quitting, you have better circulation. Your lungs are working better.
	1 to 9 months after quitting, coughing, sinus congestion, fatigue, and shortness of breath decrease. Your lungs start to function better, lowering your risk of lung infections.
	1 year after quitting, your risk for heart disease is half that of a smoker's.
	5 years after quitting, your risk of having a stroke is the same as someone who doesn't smoke.
	10 years after quitting, your risk of dying from lung cancer is half that of a smoker's. Your risk of cancer of the mouth, throat, esophagus, bladder, kidney, and pancreas also decreases.
	15 years after quitting, your risk of heart disease is now the same as someone who doesn't smoke.
	Most people only gain 5 pounds when they quit.
	Don't get discouraged if you start smoking again! Remember that many women try 2 or 3 times to quit before they give up smoking for good. Think about what helped you and what didn't the last time you tried quitting. And ask your family, friends, coworkers, and your doctor or nurse for support and help.
	Dependent, or addicted, smokers are more likely to continue smoking and to use larger amounts of nicotine over time.
	Did you know that cigarettes contain over 4,000 chemicals?
	Quitting smoking at age 65 or older reduces by nearly half a person's risk of dying of a smoking-related disease.
	The risk of dying from lung cancer is about 12 times higher among women who smoke cigarettes compared with women who never smoked.
	Heart disease is the #1 killer of women in the United States. You are 4 times more likely to die from coronary heart disease if you smoke.
	Women who smoke have more heart attacks, cancers, oral health problems, and lung conditions.
	Since 1987, lung cancer kills many more women every year than breast cancer.
	Unlike so many other health conditions or diseases, you have the power to prevent yourself from suffering from smoking-related illnesses or death. The benefits of not smoking start within days of quitting.
	Working women smokers report more days lost from work from illness and injury than working women who do not smoke.
	Smoking may affect your ability to get pregnant.
	Smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of miscarriage, stillbirth, premature or early delivery, and infants born with low birth weight.
	Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) occurs 2 times more often among babies of smoking mothers.
	Teens who smoke are more likely than teens who don't smoke to use alcohol and other drugs. Smoking is also related to other risky behaviors, such as fighting and engaging in unprotected sex.
	The three leading smoking-related causes of death in women are lung cancer (44,000), heart disease (41,000), and chronic lung disease (37,500).
	Postmenopausal women who smoke have lower bone density than women who never smoked.
	Women who smoke have an increased risk for hip fracture than women who never smoked.
	Women who smoke have an increased risk for other cancers, including cancers of the oral cavity, pharynx, larynx (voice box), esophagus, pancreas, kidney, bladder, and uterine cervix.
	Women who smoke double their risk for developing coronary heart disease and increase by more than ten-fold their likelihood of dying from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
	Secondhand smoke causes wheezing, coughing, colds, earaches, and asthma attacks.
	Secondhand smoke causes up to 300,000 lung infections (such as pneumonia and bronchitis) in infants and young children each year.
	Nicotine is as addictive as heroin and cocaine.
	Children who use tobacco cough and have asthma attacks more often, leading to more sick days, more doctor bills, and poorer athletic performance. Teens who smoke have smaller lungs and weaker hearts than teens who don't smoke.
	Each day, 1,172 Americans die from smoking-related illnesses.
	Chewing tobacco, snuff, and cigars are not safer than cigarettes. Low-tar and additive-free cigarettes are not safe either. More boys use chewing tobacco or snuff than do girls.
	Parents matter and do make a difference! Despite the influence of movies, music and TV, parents have the greatest influence on their children.
	Be a good role model - don't smoke and quit if you do. Try not to smoke around your children. This gives them a mixed message.
	Your children are never too young to learn about the dangers of tobacco. Start talking to them at age 5 or 6 and teach them how to say no.
	Kids who use tobacco may: Cough and have asthma attacks more often and develop respiratory problems leading to more sick days, more doctor bills, and poorer athletic performance. Be more likely to use alcohol and other drugs such as cocaine and marijuana. Become addicted to tobacco and find it extremely hard to quit.
	Young people vastly underestimate the addictiveness of nicotine. Of daily smokers who think that they will not smoke in five years, nearly 75 percent are still smoking five to six years later.
	Cigarette smoking causes significant health problems among children and adolescents including coughing, shortness of breath, production of phlegm, more respiratory illnesses, reduced physical fitness, an increased risk for heart disease, decreased lung growth and function, and overall poorer health.
	Every day in the United States, nearly 3,000 young people under the age of 18 become smokers.
	Every day 1,172 Americans die from smoking-related conditions and diseases.
	Teens who smoke have smaller lungs and weaker hearts and get sick more often than teens who don't smoke.
	Teens who smoke are more likely than nonsmoking teens to use alcohol and other drugs.
	Dependent, or addicted, smokers are more likely to continue smoking and to use larger amounts of nicotine over time.
	It's easier to become dependent on, or addicted to, nicotine when you are a teen. When teens and adults smoke the same number of cigarettes a day, teens tend to become more dependent than do adults.
	Each day, nearly 6,000 children under 18 years of age start smoking; of these, nearly 2,000 will become regular smokers. That is almost 800,000 every year.
	It is estimated that at least 4.5 million U.S. adolescents are cigarette smokers.
	Smoking can wreck lungs and reduce oxygen available for muscles used during sports.
	Smokers run slower and can't run as far.
	Tobacco smoke can make hair and clothes stink.
	Tobacco stains teeth and causes bad breath.
	Spit tobacco and cigars are not safe alternatives to cigarettes. Low-tar and additive-free cigarettes are not safe either.
	Way more young people don't smoke than do.
	Seventy percent of adolescent smokers wish they had never started smoking in the first place.
	The younger you begin to smoke, the more likely you are to be an adult smoker. Young people who start smoking at an earlier age are more likely to develop long-term nicotine addiction than people who start later.