1. Smoking kills more than 400,000 americans each year... more than alcohol, cocaine, crack, heroin, suicide, car accidents, fires, and aids combined.
   
   
2. One out of three teens who start smoking will die prematurely from tobacco-related illnesses.
   
   
3. Smokers lose an average of twelve years of life due to their tobacco use habit.
   
   
4. The chemical nicotine found in cigarettes and other tobacco products is an addictive drug, which is why it is so hard for people to quit using tobacco once they start. Nicotine is also a deadly poison used in many bug sprays. It is so potent that one drop (70 mg) in its liquid form will kill an average adult!
   
   
5. Evidence indicates that tobacco companies manipulate the nicotine level in cigarettes to hook smokers.
   
   
6. With every puff on a cigareete, you breathe in 4,700 different chemicals, including ammonia (a poisonous gas and a powerful toilet cleaner), arsenic (a potent rat poison), cyanide (a deadly ingredient in rat poison), acetone (a poisonous solvent and paint stripper), polonium-210 (a highly radioactive element), and carbon monoxide (a poisonous gas). Disgusting but true!!!
   
   
7. Lung cancer, throat cancer, heart disease, stroke and emphysema are just some of the painful, life-threatening diseases linked with smoking. Smoking is also associated with cancers of the mouth, pharynx, esophagus, pancreas, cervix, kidney, and bladder.
   
   
8. Smoking reduces the amount of oxygen in the blood, reducing your stamina for sports and other physical activities.
   
   
9. Smoking turns your teeth and fingernails yellow, makes your hair, clothes and breath smell gross, and causes premature wrinkling of the skin.
   
   
10. Tobacco smoke is classified as a "class a" carcinogen (a cancer causing agent). There is no safe level of exposure to a class a carinogen.
    
    
11. The use of chewing tobacco is increasing among youth. It is more addictive than cigarettes and contains carcinogens similar to those found in cigarettes.
    
    
12. In Dutchess County 30 teens start smoking each day; 10 will die prematurely as a result.

The information provided here was gathered from resources provided by the Dutchess County Department of Health, United States Environmental Protection Agency, American Cancer Society, American Lung Association, and American Heart Association.

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SmokeFree Dutchess is a community partnership with the American Cancer Society (ACS); the American Heart Association (AHA); the American Lung Association (ALA); the Dutchess County Department of Health; the Dutchess County Medical Society; Council on Addiction Prevention & Education of Dutchess County, Inc (CAPE); Vassar Brothers Medical Center; Saint Francis Hospital and Health Centers; community based organizations, physicians, businesses, schools, and Dutchess County residents.