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| Effects Of Cigarette Smoking |
Question:
What are the effects of cigarette smoking on cancer rates?
Answer:
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.
The health risks caused by cigarette smoking are not limited to smokers.
Exposure to secondhand smoke, or environmental tobacco smoke,
significantly increases the risk of lung cancer and heart disease in
nonsmokers, as well as several respiratory illnesses in young children.
(Secondhand smoke is a combination of the smoke that is released from the
end of a burning cigarette and the smoke exhaled from the lungs of smokers.)
Smoking cessation has major and immediate health benefits for men and women
of all ages. Quitting smoking decreases the risk of lung and other cancers,
heart attack, stroke, and chronic lung disease. The earlier a person quits,
the greater the health benefit.
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