Smoking and Cancer Facts
Smoking is one of the most self-destructive and addictive behaviors that you can choose to do. Smoking is also one of the most preventable causes of death from diseases such as lung cancer. Nearly 90 percent of lung-cancer deaths are the result of smoking. The reasons for not smoking are innumerable. According to the American Cancer Society, one out of five people within the U.S. dies from the use of tobacco.
Cancer Fact Sheet
According to the National Cancer Institute, every year smoking causes 30 percent of all deaths resulting from cancer. Smoking also contributes to other diseases, such as cancer of the esophagus, the bladder, the larynx, the mouth, the kidney, the pancreas, and the stomach. According to the Centers for Disease Control, if you're a male smoker, you have a 22 percent chance of dying from lung caner, and women smokers are 12 times more likely to die from lung cancer than are nonsmokers.
ETS
Environmental tobacco smoke is also known as secondhand smoke. Those who are exposed to secondhand smoke have a higher incidence of developing diseases such as lung cancer than nonsmokers do. According to the National Cancer Institute, nearly 3,000 nonsmokers die a year due to secondhand smoke. The Environmental Protection Agency and the World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) have even listed secondhand smoke as a " human carcinogen."
Toxic Chemicals
According to the American Cancer Society, tobacco contains more than 4,000 types of chemicals. More than 60 types of these chemicals have been scientifically proven to be carcinogenic. Some of these chemicals include diethylene glycol (an ingredient of antifreeze), formaldehyde, ammonia, hydrogen cyanide and tar. Since many manufacturers refuse to list the ingredients contained within their products, other types of diseases that could potentially be caused by smoking are still unknown.
Lung Cancer
The number-one cancer caused by smoking is lung cancer. More people die every year from lung cancer than from any other cancer. Lung cancer has a poor prognosis and is difficult to combat. It also has a tendency to metastasize to other locations in your body, such as the brain, the liver, the bones, and the adrenal glands. If you quit smoking, you can decrease your chances of developing lung cancer. According to the National Cancer Institute, quitting before 50 years of age can cut in half your risk of dying within the next 15 years in comparison to the risks of those who choose not to quit.
Reasons to Quit
Though trying to quit smoking may be a difficult task, the importance of trying is beneficial to your overall health. When you quit smoking, the tissue within your lungs is finally capable of repairing the damage that has been done by years of smoking. After several months of not smoking, you will notice a marked improvement in lung function, such as being able to breathe easier and not wheezing or coughing as much. You also substantially reduce the risk of dying from multiple types of cancers. If you need help quitting, the Centers for Disease Control can provide you with additional support services such as communicating with a specialist who can help you quit.
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