• In 1995, the same year the phone survey was completed, an estimated 47 million adults were current smokers in the U.S. (24.5 million men and 22.5 women).
• In September 1990, the U.S. Surgeon General outlined the benefits of smoking cessation.
• Regardless of age, people who quit smoking live longer than people who continue to smoke.
• Quitting smoking substantially decreases risk of lung, laryngeal, esophageal, oral, pancreatic, bladder, and cervical cancers
• Benefits of cessation include risk reduction for other major diseases including coronary heart disease and cardiovascular disease.
• In 1995, an estimated 63 percent of current smokers reported that they wanted to quit smoking completely.
• Almost 46 percent of current every-day smokers made attempts to quit, abstained from smoking for at least one day during the preceding 12 months in 1995.
• In 1995, 23 percent of U.S. adults were former smokers (25 million men and 19.3 million women)

From Cancer Facts and Figures 1999, American Cancer Society