The Toll of Tobacco in South Dakota  Tobacco Use in South Dakota High school students who smoke 24.7% (11,400) Male high school students who use smokeless or spit tobacco 18.9% (females use much lower) Kids (under 18) who become new daily smokers each year 1,100 Kids exposed to secondhand smoke at home 45,000 Packs of cigarettes bought or smoked by kids each year 2.6 million Adults in South Dakota who smoke 19.8% (116,200) Nationwide, youth smoking has declined dramatically since the mid-1990s, but that decline appears to have slowed considerably or even stopped in recent years. The 2005 Youth Risk Behavior Survey found that the percentage of high school students reporting that they have smoked cigarettes in the past month increased to 23 percent in 2005 from 21.9 percent in 2003. This increase follows a 40 percent decline between 1997, when rates peaked at 36.4 percent, and 2003. The survey also found that 13.6 percent of high school males use spit tobacco. U.S. adult smoking has decreased gradually in the last several decades, but was at a standstill for the second year in a row in 2006. 20.8 percent of U.S. adults (about 45 million) currently smoke, about the same as the 20.9 percent who smoked in 2004 and 2005.

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Deaths in South Dakota From Smoking Adults who die each year from their own smoking 1,100 Kids now under 18 and alive in South Dakota who will ultimately die prematurely from smoking 18,000 Adults, children, & babies who die each year from others' smoking (secondhand smoke & pregnancy smoking) 60 to 180 Smoking kills more people than alcohol, AIDS, car crashes, illegal drugs, murders, and suicides combined -- and thousands more die from other tobacco-related causes -- such as fires caused by smoking (more than 1,000 deaths/year nationwide) and smokeless tobacco use. No good estimates are currently available, however, for the number of South Dakota citizens who die from these other tobacco-related causes, or for the much larger numbers who suffer from tobacco-related health problems each year without actually dying. Smoking-Caused Monetary Costs in South Dakota Annual health care costs in South Dakota directly caused by smoking $274 million - Portion covered by the state Medicaid program $58 million Residents' state & federal tax burden from smoking-caused government expenditures $583 per household Smoking-caused productivity losses in South Dakota $228 million Amounts do not include health costs caused by exposure to secondhand smoke, smoking-caused fires, spit tobacco use, or cigar and pipe smoking. Other non-health costs from tobacco use include residential and commercial property losses from smoking-caused fires (more than $500 million per year nationwide); extra cleaning and maintenance costs made necessary by tobacco smoke and litter (about $4+ billion nationwide for commercial establishments alone); and additional productivity losses from smoking-caused work absences, smoking breaks, and on-the-job performance declines and early termination of employment caused by smoking-caused disability or illness (dollar amount listed above is just from productive work lives shortened by smoking-caused death). Tobacco Industry Influence in South Dakota Annual tobacco industry marketing expenditures nationwide $13.4 billion Estimated portion spent for South Dakota marketing each year $37.7 million Published research studies have found that kids are twice as sensitive to tobacco advertising than adults and are more likely to be influenced to smoke by cigarette marketing than by peer pressure, and that one-third of underage experimentation with smoking is attributable to tobacco company advertising. Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, 2008