Costs to the Economy

Tobacco costs the U.S. welfare and healthcare spending, loss of foreign exchange in importing cigarettes, loss of land that could grow food, environmental costs ranging from deforistation to smoker's liter, fire damage caused by careless smoking, and higher numbers of accidents which means higher insurance premiums. 20% of the trash collected in the USA are cigarette butts found on the ground.  10% of death by fire are caused from smoking, which means every year 300,000 people die from fires caused by cigarettes. This costs our government around $27 billion. In 1999, smoking accounted for 6% of USA's total health care expenses.

Quotation at bottom reads:
"I'll tell you why I like the cigarette business. It costs a penny to make. Sell it for a dollar, it's addictive. And there's fantastic brand loyalty."










Source:

"Tobacco Control -- Supplements." Web. 19 May 2011. <http://tobaccocontrol.bmj.com/supplemental>.