Smoking and Cancer
The 1982 Surgeon General’s Report stated that “Cigarette smoking is the major single cause of cancer mortality in the United States.” This statement is as true today as it was in 1982. Smoking is responsible for about 30 percent of all cancer deaths annually in the United States more than 155,000 each year. Cigarettes kill more Americans than alcohol, car accidents, suicide, AIDS, homicide, and illegal drugs combined.
Based on data collected from 1995 to 1999, the CDC estimated that adult male smokers lost an average of 13.2 years of life and female smokers lost 14.5 years of life because of smoking. The risk of developing lung and other smoking-associated cancers is related to total lifetime exposure to cigarette smoke, as measured by the number of cigarettes smoked each day, the age at which smoking began, and the number of years a person has smoked. The health risks associated with cigarette smoke are not limited to smokers: exposure to environmental tobacco smoke significantly increases a nonsmoker’s risk of developing lung cancer.
Cigarette smoking causes 87 percent of lung cancer deaths and is responsible for most cancers of the larynx, oral cavity and pharynx, esophagus, and bladder. In addition, it is a cause of kidney, pancreatic, liver, cervical and stomach cancers as well as acute myeloid leukemia. Tobacco smoke contains almost 4,000 chemical agents, including over 60 substances that are known to cause cancer. A smoker’s risk of developing lung and other cancers smoking related can be reduced by quitting.
The risk begins to decrease immediately after quitting and continues to decline gradually each year. The earlier a person quits, the greater the health benefit. For example, research has shown that people who quit before age 50 reduce their risk of dying in the next 15 years by half compared with those who continue to smoke. Today is the best day to quit smoking. Quit today and you will win a longer, healthier life.
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