Cost of Tobacco
Tobacco related costs impact everyone in West Virginia. According to the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids:
The Toll of Tobacco in West Virginia
| High school students who smoke: | 6.7% (5,800) |
| High school students who use e-cigarettes: | 27.0% |
| Male high school students who smoke cigars (female use much lower): | 7.3% |
| Kids (under 18) who try cigarettes for the first time each year: | 4,100 |
| Adults in West Virginia who smoke: | 20.4% (289,200) |
Deaths in West Virginia from Smoking
| Adults who die each year from their own smoking: | 4,300 |
| Proportion of cancer deaths in West Virginia attributable to smoking: | 37.8% |
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.
Smoking-Caused Monetary Costs in West Virginia
| Annual health care costs in West Virginia directly caused by smoking: | $1.17 billion |
| Medicaid costs caused by smoking in West Virginia: | $298.1 million |
| Residents’ state & federal tax burden from smoking-caused government expenditures: | $1,587 per household |
| Smoking-caused productivity losses in West Virginia: | $2.4 billion |
Amounts do not include health costs caused by exposure to secondhand smoke, smoking-caused fires, or use of non-cigarette tobacco products. Productivity losses are from smoking-caused premature death and illness that prevent people from working. Tobacco use also imposes costs such as damage to property.
Tobacco Industry Influence in West Virginia
| Annual tobacco industry marketing expenditures nationwide: | $8.6 billion |
| Estimated portion spent for West Virginia marketing each year: | $106.2 million |
Published research studies have found that kids are twice as sensitive to tobacco advertising as adults and are more likely to be influenced to smoke by cigarette marketing than by peer pressure. One-third of underage experimentation with smoking is attributable to tobacco company advertising.
More detailed fact sheets on tobacco’s toll in each state are available by emailing factsheets@tobaccofreekids.org
Last updated Aug. 16, 2024