According to the study, the economic cost of smoking is $3,393 per smoker per year. That translates into an estimated $7.18 in medical costs and lost productivity for every pack of cigarettes sold in the United States.

The study also found that smoking remains the leading cause of preventable death in the United States. From 1995 through 1999, 440,000 Americans died prematurely of smoking every year.

"The stunning toll that smoking takes on life is unacceptable," said Rosemarie Henson, director of CDC's Office on Smoking and Health. "States and communities can and should do more to reduce the impact of smoking on the physical and financial health of their communities."

The study is published in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

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