FACT SHEET ON TOBACCO & OLDER PERSONS

PREPARED IN 2001 BY: THE CENTER FOR SOCIAL GERONTOLOGY, ANN ARBOR, MI

Of the over 430,000 smoking-related deaths annually in the U.S., over 94% are to persons aged 50 and over; over 70% are to persons aged 65 and over. In Michigan, of the over 15,700 smoking-related deaths annually, over 14,800 are to persons aged 50 and over; almost 11,000 are to persons aged 65 and over.
One in three smokers die prematurely in the U.S., losing an average of 12 to 15 years of life versus normal life expectancy -- thereby eliminating retirement years for most of these people. We refer to smoker's continuing to smoke in spite of these odds as "Smoker's Russian Roulette."
Nationally about 10.6% of persons aged 65 and over are smokers - over 3.7 million persons nationally, including over 129,000 Michiganians. Nationally about 23.3% of persons aged 50 to 64 are smokers -- about 9 million persons nationally, including about 360,000 Michiganians. Thus, nationally almost 13 million Americans aged 50 and over are currently smokers, including almost 490,000 Michiganians aged 50 and over. The almost 13 million smokers aged 50 and over account for over 27% of all adult smokers in the U.S.
Today's generation of older Americans -- those persons born between 1900 and 1948 who are now aged 50 and over -- had smoking rates among the highest of any U.S. generation. In the mid-1960s, about 54% of adult males smoked and another 21% were former smokers; over 34% of adult females were smokers and another 8% were former smokers. Today's epidemic of smoking-related deaths is the result of these high smoking rates.
Of the approximately 3 million pipe smokers in the U.S., over half are over the age of 46.
All the major causes of death among the elderly are associated with smoking or secondhand smoke -- cancer, heart disease, and stroke. And, each of these diseases generally is associated with months and years of disabling pain and suffering.
Tobacco-related fires claimed almost 1,400 deaths in 1995; of these over 700 occurred to persons aged 50 and over (over 50%) and almost 440 of these deaths were to persons aged 65 and over (over 30%). Smoking is the number one cause of fires that kill older persons.
Of cases of oral and throat cancer in the U.S., 95% occur in persons aged 40 and over; the average age at diagnosis is 60 years. Smoking, particularly when combined with heavy alcohol consumption, is the primary risk factor for approximately 75% of oral cancers in the U.S. In 1998, about 30,000 Americans will be diagnosed with oral and throat cancer; about 8,000 deaths will result, of which 5,200 will be men and 2,800 women.
Recent research has indicated that smoking use is related to a number of other health problems/diseases that are generally associated with aging, including hearing loss, vision loss, oral health problems, impotence, wrinkles, dementia and Alzheimer's.
Research has shown that stopping smoking results in improvement in health status at any age, including in those persons aged 65 and over. Some health benefits are almost immediate, and the longer people refrain from smoking, the more their health improves.

Data in this Fact Sheet has been taken from the following: Census, 2000; Centers for Disease Control "Smoking-Attributable Mortality, Morbidity, & Economic Costs" SAMMEC 3.0, August, 1996; Orleans, C.T., & Slade, J., editors, Nicotine Addiction: Principles & Management, 1993; MMWR, p. 2, 8/28/98; MMWR, pp. 869-873, 10/12/01; CDC State Tobacco Control Highlights, 1999; Pipe Tobacco Council data in Wall Street Journal, 12/31/96.

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The Center for Social Gerontology, Inc.
2307 Shelby Avenue
Ann Arbor, MI 48103
(734) 665-1126
(734) 665-2071 FAX
jbergman@tcsg.org