Cigarette smoking is the single most important preventable cause of cancer. Each year, about 180,000 Americans die from cancers caused by cigarette smoking. That's about one-third of all cancer deaths. (1) Cigarette smokers are twice as likely as nonsmokers to die of cancer; for the heaviest smokers, the risk is even higher -- as much as four times the risk faced by nonsmokers. (2)
just the facts
Each year, more than 500,000 Americans die of cancer.
Of the more than 400,000 people who die each year as a result of cigarette smoking, about 40 percent die of cancer.
In fact, smoking is the number one cause of lung cancer, and it is responsible for the large majority -- about 90% -- of deaths from this disease.
Five to 10 times more likely to get lung cancer
Three to 13 times more likely to get oral (mouth) cancer (3)
About 27 times more likely to get oral cancer if they're men; six times more likely if they're women (4)
10 times more likely to get cancer of the larynx (vocal cords) if they're men; eight times more likely if they're women
Eight to ten times more likely to get esophageal cancer (and the chances are even greater if the smoker also abuses alcohol)
Two to three times more likely to get bladder cancer (5)
Two to five times more likely to get pancreatic cancer (6)
87% of all lung cancers (7)
92% of all oral (mouth) cancers in men and 61% in women (8)
82% of all cancers of the larynx (the vocal cords)
at least 80% of all esophageal cancers (9)
at least 40%, and perhaps as many as 70%, of all bladder cancers (10)
17% of all kidney cancers (11)
30% of all pancreatic cancers (12)
31% of fatal cervical cancers (13)
Sources 1. American Cancer Society. Cancer Facts & Figures 2001. Atlanta: American Cancer Society, 2001. 2. Newcomb PA, Carbone PP. The health consequences of smoking: cancer. The Medical Clinics of North America 1992;76:305-331 3. Blot WJ, McLaughlin JK, Devesa SS, Fraumeni JF Jr. Cancers of the oral cavity and pharynx. In: Schottenfeld D, Fraumeni JF Jr, eds. Cancer Epidemiology and Prevention. Second Edition. New York: Oxford University Press, Inc., 1996:666-680. 4. Newcomb PA, Carbone PP. The health consequences of smoking: cancer. The Medical Clinics of North America 1992;76:305-331. 5. Spruck CH, Rideout WM, Olumi AR. Distinct pattern of p53 mutations in bladder cancer: relationship to tobacco usage. Cancer Research 1993;53:1162-1166. 6. Fuchs CS, Colditz GA, Stampfer MJ, Giovannucci EL, Hunter DJ, Rimm EB, Willett WC, Speizer FE. A prospective study of cigarette smoking and the risk of pancreatic cancer. Archives of Internal Medicine 1996;156:2255-2260. 7. Dillner J, von Krogh G, Horenblas S, Meijer CJLM. Etiology of squamous cell carcinoma of the penis. Scandinavian Journal of Urology and Nephrology. Supplementum 2000;205:189-193. 8. Newcomb PA, Carbone PP. The health consequences of smoking: cancer. The Medical Clinics of North America 1992;76:305-331. 9. Newcomb PA, Carbone PP. The health consequences of smoking: cancer. The Medical Clinics of North America 1992;76:305-331. 10. Talaska G, Schamer M, Casetta G, Tizzani A, Vineis P. Carcinogen-DNA adducts in bladder biopsies and urothelial cells: a risk assessment exercise. Cancer Letters 1994;84:93-97. 11. Yuan JM, Castelao JE, Gago-Dominguez M, Yu MC, Ross RK. Tobacco use in relation to renal cell carcinoma. Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention 1998;7:429-433. 12. American Cancer Society. Cancer Facts & Figures 2001. Atlanta: American Cancer Society, 2001. 13. Brinton LA. Editorial commentary: smoking and cervical cancer -- current status. American Journal of Epidemiology 1990;131:958-960.
definition
Cancer is not one disease but many. There are more than 100 different types of cancer, but they all have one thing in common -- abnormal cells. In cancer, normal cells in some part of the body are changed into abnormal cells, which grow and reproduce in uncontrolled, harmful ways. Most types of cancer, such as lung cancer and breast cancer, have been named for the part of the body in which they start, but a few have been named in other ways. You may have heard of leukemia (a cancer of the white blood cells) or melanoma (a type of skin cancer).
Cancer is a relatively common disease, especially among older people. Each year, more than a million new cases of cancer occur in the United States. Cancer can sometimes be treated successfully, allowing people to live for many years. In other instances, though, cancer is fatal. Each year, more than 500,000 Americans die of cancer. Some types of cancer are more likely than others to be fatal. For example, most people who develop lung cancer die of their disease, but most people who develop skin cancer or breast cancer do not.
explanation
You probably already know that cigarette smoking can cause cancer. That fact is common knowledge, and it's mentioned on one of the four rotating warning labels on cigarette packages. A lot of people don't realize, though, just how important smoking is as a cause of cancer and how many types of cancer it can cause.
Cigarette smoke contains more than 40 substances that are known to be cancer-causing agents. Many of these substances are produced when tobacco is burned, but some are present even in unburned tobacco (this is why smokeless tobacco, which is not burned, can cause cancer of the mouth).
Of the more than 400,000 people who die each year as a result of cigarette smoking, about 40 percent die of cancer.
Types of Cancer Linked to Smoking
If you have read the cigarette warning labels you know that cigarette smoking causes lung cancer. In fact, smoking is the number one cause of lung cancer, and it is responsible for the large majority -- about 90% -- of deaths from this disease.
Lung cancer is not the only type of cancer linked to cigarette smoking, however. Smoking can also cause cancers of the mouth, nose, throat, esophagus (the tube that leads from the mouth to the stomach), salivary glands, bladder, kidney, pancreas (an organ in your abdomen that produces hormones and digestive juices), and lower intestinal tract (the colon and rectum). In women, smoking can cause cancer of two parts of the female reproductive system: the cervix and the vulva. In men, it can cause cancer of the penis. Some scientific evidence suggests that smoking may also be linked to cancers of the stomach and the prostate gland (a gland found only in men). Smoking has also been linked to one kind of leukemia and one kind of skin cancer.
Smoking can cause cancer in so many different parts of the body because harmful substances from cigarette smoke find their way to all of these body parts. When you smoke a cigarette, substances from cigarette smoke enter your body through your lungs. From there, they circulate in the blood to every cell in your body. Some parts of your body are also exposed to cigarette smoke components in other ways. One example of this is your esophagus (the tube that leads from your mouth to your stomach); it is exposed to cigarette smoke components that you swallow with your saliva as well as to those that travel to your esophagus through your bloodstream.
Impact of Smoking on Cancer
Smoking greatly increases your chances of developing various types of cancer. In comparison to nonsmokers, smokers are:
Five to 10 times more likely to get lung cancer
Three to 13 times more likely to get oral (mouth) cancer (3)
About 27 times more likely to get oral cancer if they're men; six times more likely if they're women (4)
10 times more likely to get cancer of the larynx (vocal cords) if they're men; eight times more likely if they're women
Eight to ten times more likely to get esophageal cancer (and the chances are even greater if the smoker also abuses alcohol)
Two to three times more likely to get bladder cancer (5)
Two to five times more likely to get pancreatic cancer (6)
And remember -- smokers face all of these risks at the same time.
Smoking is responsible for a high percentage of all cases of several types of cancer. Experts estimate that smoking causes:
87% of all lung cancers (7)
92% of all oral (mouth) cancers in men and 61% in women (8)
82% of all cancers of the larynx (the vocal cords)
at least 80% of all esophageal cancers (9)
at least 40%, and perhaps as many as 70%, of all bladder cancers (10)
17% of all kidney cancers (11)
30% of all pancreatic cancers (12)
31% of fatal cervical cancers (13)
Every one of these smoking-related cancers could have been prevented if people didn't smoke cigarettes or use tobacco in any other form.
