HEALTH HAZARDS OF SMOKING: CANCER

Cigarette smoking adversely affects the health of every person who smokes. Each pack of cigarettes has a warning label alerting smokers to some of the dangers. Smoking has been estimated to be responsible for almost 19 percent of all U.S. deaths each year - that's almost one out of every five deaths.

The American Cancer Society estimates that tobacco smoking is the cause of approximately 30 percent of all deaths from cancer and of more than 85 to 90 percent of all cases of lung cancer. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States. It is estimated that there w 164,100 new cases of lung cancer in the United States in 2000 alone, and an estimated 156,900 Americans died of lung cancer in 2000. Less than 10 percent of lung cancers occur among nonsmokers.

Lung cancer can take from 10 to 30 years to develop. The outlook for victims of this disease is poor. Most lung cancer is not diagnosed until it is fairly widespread in the body; at that point, the five-year survival rate is only 13 percent. When a malignancy is diagnosed and recognized while still localized, the five-year survival rate rises to 47 percent.

If you are a smoker, your risk of developing lung cancer depends on several factors. First, the number of cigarettes you smoke per day is important. Someone who smokes two packs a day is 15 to 25 times more likely to develop lung cancer than a nonsmoker. If you started smoking in your teens, you have a greater chance of developing lung cancer than people who started later. If you inhale deeply when you smoke, you also increase your chances of developing the disease. Occupational or domestic exposure to other irritants, such as asbestos and radon, will also increase your likelihood of developing lung cancer.

Tobacco is linked to other cancers as well. Cigarette smoking increases the risk of pancreatic cancer by 70 percent. Smokers can reduce those odds by 30 percent if they quit for 11 years or more. Cancers of the lip, tongue, salivary glands, and esophagus are five times more likely to occur among smokers than among nonsmokers. Smokers are also more likely to develop kidney, bladder, and larynx cancers.

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