Virginia’s tobacco tax is 30 cents per pack, compared to the national average of $1.65 per pack. Just raising the tobacco tax alone, Donohue argues, would dissuade the 35,000 Virginia high school students who use tobacco products from doing so.

ACS CAN estimates that raising the tobacco tax to the national average would also lower the number of current adult smokers by over 50,000.

Though it is the most widely known, lung cancer is not the only cancer that can result from tobacco use. It is linked to 14 kinds of cancer, including bladder and colorectal.

Virginia spends $3.11 billion annually on tobacco-related health care costs and $8.3 million on tobacco prevention.

“For every pack of cigarettes sold, $20 worth of health care costs go with it, and if you look at who tends to be in the smoking group, it’s the poor counties within Virginia where they do not have Medicaid coverage because we didn’t choose to expand Medicaid, and they’re in a state that does not spend a lot of money in tobacco cessation programs,” Donohue said.

For every dollar Virginia spends preventing tobacco use, the tobacco industry spends $47.10, according to the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.