Tobacco Free Living

• Two-thirds of Louisiana residents think that smoking should not be allowed at all in indoor work areas.
• 14.5% of pregnant women in Louisiana reported smoking during the last 3 months of pregnancy.
• 43% of Louisianans are not protected by smoke-free policies at home.
• In Louisiana, 650-1150 people will die each year from the effects of exposure to secondhand smoke.
• In an average week, more than 80% of Louisiana residents are exposed to secondhand smoke.
• More than two-thirds of Louisiana residents support smoke-free restaurant policies. Over one-third of Louisiana workers are not protected by smoke-free policies.
• In Louisiana, 1 out of every 2 children are exposed to secondhand smoke in their homes.
• Annually, an estimated 35,000 nonsmokers die from coronary health disease in the United States as a result of exposure to secondhand smoke.
• In young children, exposure to secondhand smoke is associated with an increased risk for sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), asthma, bronchitis and pneumonia.
• Secondhand smoke is associated with an increased risk for lung cancer and coronary heart disease in nonsmoking adults.
• Smoking shortens a person’s lifespan by 13 to 14 years.
• Secondhand smoke is a mixture of the smoke given off by the burning end of tobacco products and the smoke exhaled by smokers. It contains a complex mixture of more than 4,000 chemicals, 60 of which cause cancer.
• Smoking costs $1.66 billion in lost productivity in Louisiana each year.
• Tobacco use costs Louisiana $1.15 billion annually in direct medical expenditures, raising the cost of health insurance for everyone.
• 23.9% of Louisiana adults smoke.
• 25% of all high school students in Louisiana smoke. 

The Louisiana Campaign for Tobacco-Free Living