Older adults began smoking before cigarettes' harmful effects were well understood. This generation of Americans is now experiencing the health consequences of an average of 40 years of smoking. An estimated 430,700 Americans die each year from diseases caused by smoking. Smoking is responsible for an estimated one in five deaths in the United States and costs this country at least $97.2 billion each year in health-care costs and lost productivity.

• Older smokers are significantly less likely than younger smokers to believe that smoking harms their health.
  
• One of every three deaths among older men who smoke more than a pack of cigarettes a day is related to smoking.
  
• Older smokers are highly nicotine dependent, as measured by the need to smoke within 30 minutes of waking.
  
• Quitting smoking has proven health benefits, even at a late age. When an older person quits smoking, circulation improves immediately, and the lungs begin to repair damage. In one year, the added risk of heart disease is cut almost in half and risk of stroke, lung disease and cancer diminish.