Cigarette smoking is the leading cause of preventable death in the U.S. It causes more than 480,000 deaths each year. That is nearly 1 in 5 deaths, or 1,300 deaths every day.
In Florida alone, cigarette smoking is responsible for 32,300 deaths every year.
For every person who dies because of smoking, at least 30 people live with a serious smoking-related illness. That means more than 16 million Americans are living with a disease caused by smoking.
Smoking cigarettes can cause heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes, gum disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and more. Everyone knows about the connection between smoking and lung cancer. In fact, 9 out of 10 lung cancer deaths are connected to smoking and more women die from lung cancer each year than from breast cancer.
ARE YOU Ready to Quit?
Tobacco Free Florida is here to provide you the information and resources to help you create a quit journey customized to your needs.
About Tobacco Free Florida
In November 2006, Florida voters overwhelmingly approved a state constitutional amendment, Article X, Section 27, that called for establishing a comprehensive tobacco education and use prevention program using a percentage of the state’s tobacco settlement fund. As a result, Tobacco Free Florida launched in 2007.
As mandated by Article X, Section 27, Florida Constitution, Tobacco Free Florida follows the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Best Practices for Comprehensive Tobacco Control Programs.
Strategic Plan
The 2022-2027 strategic plan represents a coordinated effort between the Florida Department of Health, key partners, and other stakeholders in tobacco prevention and control in Florida.
This guide helps state programs plan and establish evidence-based comprehensive, sustained, and accountable tobacco control programs to prevent and reduce tobacco use.
Funding
Tobacco Free Florida is administered through the Florida Department of Health. These tobacco lawsuits were intended to punish cigarette makers for decades of fraud and racketeering and to help states pay for the Medicaid and other public health expenses to cover sick smokers. Florida was among three other states (Texas, Mississippi, and Minnesota) that settled with the tobacco industry before the Master Settlement Agreement of 1998 between the other 46 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.
Tobacco Free Florida operates with an annual budget of roughly $65 million, which is allocated by the legislature to prevent youth from starting to use tobacco and to provide tobacco cessation services, infrastructure and marketing efforts.
Tobacco Education and Use Prevention Advisory Council
The Tobacco Education and Use Prevention Advisory Council, created by section 381.84 (4), Florida Statues, has 21 members, meets quarterly, and provides advice in the direction and scope of Tobacco Free Florida activities to the State Surgeon General.
Data and Results
From 2007 to 2010, the smoking rate for adults decreased significantly, resulting in 500,000 fewer Floridian adult smokers. The high school smoking rate has also decreased to 10.1%, below the national average of 17.2%. These decreases in smokers resulted in an estimated savings of as much as $4.2 billion in personal health care expenditures and ultimately a healthier workforce with increased productivity and fewer sick days for employees and their employers.
Learn more about our success by reading the most recent Annual Report.