The Surgeon General of the United States of America, Vice Admiral Jerome Adams, has revealed that smoking cost America some $300 billion, about N108,450 trillion annually, reports ITREALMS.
He decried the fact that on average, every American pays roughly $1,000 every year to cover the national cost of smoking.
Adams also lamented that much of that cost is borne by governments, through taxpayers.
The Report, ITREALMS gathered had noted that nearly all smokers started in adolescence, and became hooked on a product that was engineered to be as addictive as possible.
"Children cannot sign contracts, vote, or rent a car; legal authority comes at the age of 18 for a reason," part of the report read.
Insisting that a middle schooler cannot consent to become a nicotine addict, the report blamed tobacco epidemic squarely on the tobacco industry, but governments bear some responsibility for allowing a product that is addictive and kills when used as intended to be sold in nearly every corner store.
ITREALMS also gathered that the human right to health which is well recognized in international law stipulates that every human has the right to the highest attainable standard of health.
Commenting on the report, an over fifty year anti-tobacco organization, the Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) commended Adams for this exposure, lamented that in a rich society like the U.S., access to smoking cessation treatment is certainly attainable.
"We also have a duty under human rights to seek equity in human development, especially for vulnerable populations.
ASH, which spoke through Megan Arendt, pointed out that racial minorities and the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community have been particularly targeted by tobacco industry marketing, and consequently suffer disproportionately from the tobacco epidemic.
Chuks Egbune/Editor