What would you buy with the money tobacco costs you?

$10,000,000,000

That's 145 million Packers tickets
Or 3.5 million tickets to see the Packers in next year's Super Bowl
Or 250 million gallons of gas to get you there
$10 billion?

According to the American Legacy Foundation’s report, Saving Lives, Saving Money II, that's the savings taxpayers could enjoy with an increased focus on tobacco cessation and prevention.

According to the report, if all current Wisconsin smokers on Medicaid successfully quit long-term, the state could spend almost 7% less - a whopping $245 million. Nationwide, those Medicaid savings translate to billions. Prevention saves dollars as well. If Wisconsin could permanently stop all smoking among current 24-year olds, Medicaid savings over their lifetimes would be $16.8 million. Nationwide, such prevention could save nearly a billion dollars.

Of course, there are far more important numbers than $10 billion. Try 8.6 million. That's the number of Americans living with preventable tobacco-related disease each day. From Medicaid to final expenses, an increase in tobacco cessation and prevention would save both lives and cash.