Virginia Highlights
Tobacco use remains the leading cause of preventable death and disease in the
United States and in Virginia. (American Lung Association 2024)
In Virginia, smoking among adults is around 11% with the tobacco use being around 18%. However, the more alarming numbers are the use of tobacco in those under the age of 18. While smoking is not healthy no matter what age, it is especially detrimental for children. According to the American Lung Association, the high school tobacco rate is around 8%.
Vaping and it’s Effects
Altria and it’s entry into the c-cigarette market has had an effect on the people of Virginia. Vaping is very popular with younger smokers, and Altria’s advancement into the market has allowed it to profit off of the popularity. E-cigarettes are the most popular tobacco product among high schoolers and this can create a issue on dependence on nicotine and tobacco during critical brain development. (Kyzwanna Caves 2025) This can be do the a number of factors, especially with e-cgiarettes being perceived as less harmful then regular cigarettes, making them more enticing to younger consumers.
As seen in this table, the older an adolescent the more likely they are to try e-cigarettes, with 17 years or older 2.37% more likely to try e-vapor products compared to younger age groups. This number also increase or decreases based on various factors such as females being 1.88% more likely to try e-vapor products and sexual orientation.
While this may seem small, any percentage more likely to try e-vapor products is a negative sign. It can lead to early addiction and dependency that can stunt brain growth.” Using nicotine during adolescence can harm the parts of the brain that control attention, learning, mood, and impulse control”. (Center for Disease Control 2025) E-cigarettes also allow for metals such as nickel, tin, lead and other tiny particles enter deep into the lungs, which can cause a variety of lung disease.
Affects of Smoking in Virginia
10,300 adults have died from smoking in Virginia with 29.3% of cancer deaths in Virginia are attributed to Virginia.(Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids 2025) Smoking kills more people in Virginia then AIDS, car crashes, drugs, and suicide combined. While data on what type of tobacco product the people who die at the hands of smoking are, Marlboro is the most popular cigarette brand in the United States, are a brand of cigarettes owned by the Altria Group.
Smoking does bring a high medical cost on the people of Virginia, it also has a massive economic costs as well. The Medicaid costs for smoking in Virginia for 2025 was 522.1 million dollars, which costs tax payers in the state about $869 per household. The cost to be a smoker is also quite high, with it costing smokers in Virginia about $43,308 per year in health care and out of pocket product costs. (The Center Square 2021)
Meanwhile, marketing tells otherwise. The tobacco industry as spends about 8.6 billion dollars in marketing nationwide, with about 310 million dollars being spent in Virginia alone. (Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids 2025)
Meanwhile, companies such as Altria has continued to see improve profits. In 2024, Altria made about 3 billion dollars in net earnings, a 47.5% increase over 2023.(Businesswire 2024) While tobacco companies has continued to see a rise in earnings, the people who are most affected by smoking spend thousands on medical costs, and even those who do not smoke foot some of the bill.
Altria, despite their community outreach initiatives, creates a massively negative impact for those around them. While their massive earnings are used to support their philanthropic programs, is it really enough to make up for the thousands of people in Virginia that have lost their lives due to the product they sell? Are Altria simple just creating a product that people demand, and therefore are innocent of the results of what people do with their product?
Does Altria do charitable works as a way to cover up the harmful results of their products or as way to make up for it?