Reducing Riskavoid Tobacco - Chapter 3 Reducing Your Cancer Risk: Cancer

Content provided by the Faculty of the Harvard Medical School

Reducing risk-Avoid tobacco

The most critical factor in cancer prevention and probably in maintaining your health in general, is to avoid all forms of tobacco. That includes smoking cigarettes and cigars, as well as chewing tobacco. In the United States, nearly one in five deaths from all causes results directly or indirectly from tobacco use. (That includes heart disease and other illnesses, as well as lung cancer.) About half of all people who smoke die between the ages of 35 and 69, losing on average 20 to 25 years of their life expectancy.

Tobacco use (mainly smoking) causes about 9 out of 10 cases of lung cancer, which remains the nation's leading cancer killer, responsible for 30% of all cancer deaths. It is less well known that tobacco use also increases the risk of developing cancers of the bladder, cervix, esophagus, kidney, larynx, mouth, pancreas and stomach. It also increases the risk of leukemia. Studies linking smoking with colon cancer have been inconsistent, but smoking does appear to be associated with rectal cancer.

The best approach, of course, is to not begin smoking in the first place. But unfortunately, although the overall proportion of people who smoke has declined in the United States since 1965, cigarette smoking has increased among young people. Although smoking rates among high school students have declined, they remain too high. In 2005, statistics show that 32% of male students and 25% of female students smoke. Adults are smoking less too, but roughly 24% of men and 18% of women still light up. Approximately 80% smoke daily. It may surprise you to learn that lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death for both men and women in the United States.

If you currently smoke, but want to quit, you are not alone. Each year, about 3 million Americans manage to stop smoking. Different methods work for different people. While some people quit "cold-turkey," others find success by first cutting back and then quitting, by joining a support group, or by using nicotine gums, patches, or sprays.

Risk of secondhand smoke. Secondhand smoke, sometimes called "environmental tobacco smoke," also causes cancer. The American Cancer Society estimates that 3,000 nonsmokers die of lung cancer each year as a result of inhaling the cigarette smoke of others. If you don't smoke but your spouse does, your chance of getting lung cancer is 30% greater than that of someone who does not live with a smoker. Many of the chemical compounds in secondhand smoke are known or probable carcinogens. Although you'd have an even greater risk of lung cancer if you were a smoker, there are no safe levels of exposure to secondhand smoke. It's best to avoid this toxin whenever possible. Ask family members, friends, and coworkers not to smoke in your home, workplace, or car.

Smokeless tobacco. Tobacco can cause cancer and other health problems even when it is chewed rather than inhaled. Chewing tobacco increases the risk of cancer of the cheek and gums by about 50 times.

Last updated:	May 01, 2008