Cigarette Smoking and Cancer

The relationship between cigarette smoking and cancer is well known. Cigarette smoking causes cancer; it is responsible for approximately 30 percent of all cancer deaths annually in the United States. In addition to lung cancer, cigarette smoking also causes chronic lung disease, cardiovascular disease, stroke, and cataracts. The health risks caused by cigarette smoking are not only limited to smokers; statistics on cigarette smoking and cancer indicate that secondhand smoke is responsible for 3,000 deaths among American nonsmokers every year.

 

Cigarette Smoking and Cancer: An Overview

Tobacco use, particularly cigarette smoking, is the single most preventable cause of death in the United States. Cigarette smoking alone is directly responsible for approximately 30 percent of all cancer deaths annually in the United States.
 
Cigarette smoking also causes chronic lung disease (emphysema and chronic bronchitis), cardiovascular disease, stroke, and cataracts. Smoking during pregnancy can cause stillbirth, low birth weight, sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), and other serious pregnancy complications.
 
Quitting smoking greatly reduces a person's risk of developing these diseases, and can limit adverse health effects on the developing child.
 

Cigarette Smoking and Cancer Rates

Cigarette smoking causes 87 percent of lung cancer deaths. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in both men and women.
 
Smoking is also responsible for most cancers of the larynx, oral cavity and pharynx, esophagus, and bladder. In addition, it is a cause of kidney, pancreatic, cervical, and stomach cancers, as well as acute myeloid leukemia.
 
(Cigarette Smoking and Cancer Continued: Page 2)
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Written by/reviewed by: Arthur Schoenstadt, MD
Last reviewed by: Arthur Schoenstadt, MD