790 adult non smokers in South Carolina, die every year due to exposure to secondhand smoke
The costs of smoking are legion. No dollar value can be placed on the harm to smokers’ quality of life, vitality, and longevity, nor on the significant and measurable effects of second and thirdhand cigarette smoke. No dollar value can be placed on the emotional suffering caused by these injuries.
Dollar value can, however, be calculated for the costs of treating smoking related illness, lost productivity due to smoking, and the cost to society of premature death. The American Lung Association reports that while the average retail price of a pack of cigarettes in S.C. is $4.19, the real price of a pack of cigarettes to our state’s economy is far more expensive: $13.27 per pack.
Smoking is expensive to our society because of losses due to premature death, lost worker productivity, and because smoking-related illness is diverse and expensive to treat. For example, consider that over 70% of all male cancer deaths are now linked to smoking cigarettes
Tobacco Use in South Carolina
| High school students who smoke | 20.5% (52,600) |
| Male high school students who use smokeless or spit tobacco | 18.8% (females use much lower) |
| Kids (under 18) who become new daily smokers each year | 5,500 |
| Kids exposed to secondhand smoke at home | 240,000 |
| Packs of cigarettes bought or smoked by kids each year | 12.4 million |
| Adults in South Carolina who smoke | 20.3% (692,900) |
Deaths in South Carolina From Smoking
| Adults who die each year from their own smoking | 6,100 |
| Kids now under 18 and alive in South Carolina who will ultimately die prematurely from smoking | 103,000 |
| Adult nonsmokers who die each year from exposure to secondhand smoke | 790 |
Smoking-Caused Monetary Costs in South Carolina
| Annual health care costs in South Carolina directly caused by smoking | $1.09 billion |
| - Portion covered by the state Medicaid program | $393 million |
| Residents’ state & federal tax burden from smoking-caused government expenditures | $565 per household |
| Smoking-caused productivity losses in South Carolina | $1.94 billion |
Tobacco Industry Influence in South Carolina
| Annual tobacco industry marketing expenditures nationwide | $12.8 billion |
| Estimated portion spent for South Carolina marketing each year | $282.6 million |
