Tobacco use remains the nation's number one cause of preventable death, killing approximately 443,000 Americans and costing $96 billion in direct health care costs each year. Two new reports from the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network measure the dramatic health and economic benefits of enacting strong tobacco control policies in the states. The reports quantify lives saved, reduction in smokers and health costs saved in each state from implementing comprehensive smoke-free laws or tobacco tax increases.

The results provide advocates and lawmakers with new concrete evidence that smoke-free laws and tobacco taxes are win-win: they save lives and save money.

