Lung cancer is the second most common cancer in the United Kingdom (excluding non melanoma skin cancer). Around 41,400 people are diagnosed in the UK each year. Smoking and lung cancer In most people, lung cancer is related to cigarette smoking. Smoking causes nearly 9 out of 10 cases (86%). A further 3% of cases of lung cancer are caused by exposure to second hand smoke in non smokers (passive smoking). Here are some facts about smoking and lung cancer.
* The more you smoke, the more likely you are to get lung cancer but it is the length of time you have been a smoker that is most important * Starting smoking at a young age greatly increases the risk * Filtered and low tar cigarettes might not increase your risk quite so much, but most smokers cancel this out by taking more, deeper puffs or smoking more cigarettes * As soon as you stop smoking your risk of lung cancer starts to go down * Passive smoking (breathing in other people’s cigarette smoke) increases the risk of lung cancer, but it is still much less than if you smoke yourself It is almost impossible to work out the risk of occasional passive smoking.
We know that the risk of lung cancer for passive smokers goes up the more cigarette smoke they are exposed to. Overall, people exposed to environmental tobacco smoke at work or at home have their risk of lung cancer increased by about a quarter compared to people who are not exposed to it. Heavy exposure to environmental tobacco smoke at work has been shown to double the risk of lung cancer. Cigarette smoking is the main cause of lung cancer. But pipe and cigar smokers are still much more likely to get lung cancer than non smokers. They are also much more likely to get cancer of the mouth or lip. In the past, lung cancer has always been more common in men than women.
Now, because more women smoke, it is almost as common in women. However long you have been smoking, it is always worth giving it up. Talk to your GP or practice nurse. They will be able to help and support you while you are giving up. Smoking and cancer Thanks to years of research, the links between smoking and cancer are now very clear. Smoking is by far the most important preventable cause of cancer in the world. Smoking accounts for one in four UK cancer deaths, and nearly a fifth of all cancer cases. In the UK, smoking kills five times more people than road accidents, overdoses, murder, suicide and HIV all put together. Which cancers are caused by smoking?
Smoking causes more than four in five cases of lung cancer. Lung cancer has one of the lowest survival rates of all cancers, and is the most common cause of cancer death in the UK. The good news is that most of these deaths are preventable, by giving up smoking in time. Smoking also increases the risk of over a dozen other cancers including cancers of the mouth, larynx (voice box), pharynx (upper throat), nose and sinuses, oesophagus (food pipe), liver, pancreas, stomach, kidney, bladder, cervix and bowel, as well as one type of ovarian cancer and some types of leukaemia. There is also some evidence that smoking could increase the risk of breast cancer. Not all smokers get cancer. Why?
You may know someone who smoked all their lives but lived to a ripe old age. Or you may know someone who never smoked but got cancer anyway. Does this mean that smoking doesn’t really cause cancer? Not at all. Years of research have proven that smoking causes cancer. But this doesn’t mean that all smokers will definitely get cancer or that all non-smokers won’t. It means that smoking greatly increases the risk of this disease. Smokers are, on average, much more likely to get cancer than non-smokers. In a similar way, we can say that eating sugary foods is a cause of tooth decay. This doesn’t mean that all children who eat sugary foods will end up with decayed teeth.
It means that, on average, children who eat lots of sugary foods are more likely to develop tooth decay than those who avoid such foods. The fact is that half of all smokers eventually die from cancer, or other smoking-related illnesses. And a quarter of smokers die in middle age, between 35 and 69. How does smoking cause cancer? Tobacco smoke contains more than 70 different cancer-causing substances. When you inhale smoke, these chemicals enter your lungs and spread around the rest of your body. Scientists have shown that these chemicals can damage DNA and change important genes. This causes cancer by making your cells grow and multiply out of control.
Giving up makes a difference Thanks to research, health campaigns and new policies, the number of smokers in the UK has halved in the last 50 years. Because of this, the number of people who die from lung cancer has also halved. Clearly, giving up smoking saves lives. But there is still a long way to go. Lung cancer is still the second most common type of cancer in the UK and kills over 35,000 people every year.
And there are signs that the number of people who are quitting is starting to match the number who are taking it up. If you are a smoker, giving up smoking is the best present you can give yourself. There are many techniques you can try to help you join the increasing numbers of smokers who are quitting for good. You can find more advice on quitting in this section.