Lung Cancer and Other Tobacco-Related Diseases

Deaths from cigarette smoking are the single most preventable premature deaths in the United States. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) says that one out of every five deaths in the United States is smoking related. Nearly 21 percent of adults smoke, creating a much-increased risk of lung cancer — 22 times higher for male smokers and 12 times higher for female smokers compared to those who never smoked.

In addition to being a strong factor in the development of lung cancer, cigarette smoking also increases the risk of a number of other cancers, including mouth and throat cancers, bladder, pancreatic, cervical and kidney cancer.

Cancer is not the only disease caused by smoking. It also causes most cases of COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), and some 90 percent of COPD-related deaths are caused by smoking. Heart disease and strokes are often linked to smoking, and a number of childhood diseases and conditions are linked to smoking during pregnancy and/or secondhand smoke.

References and links with additional information about lung cancer, COPD and other diseases and cancers caused by smoking:

• American Lung Association
  • Around the Clock with COPD
  • Chronic Bronchitis and Emphysema (2006)
  • Facts about Lung Cancer (2006)
• Centers for Disease Control
  • Cigarette Smoking-Related Mortality (2006)
  • Health Effects of Cigarette Smoking (2008)
  • Oral Cancer
  • Targeting Tobacco Use: The Nation's Leading Cause of Preventable Death (2008)
• National Cancer Institute
  • Head and Neck Cancer
  • Smoking and Cancer
• National Institutes of Health - MedlinePlus
  • COPD: Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
  • Emphysema
  • Lung Cancer
  • Oral Cancer
• World Health Organization
  • Cancer Prevention
  • Cardiovascular Diseases
  • Oral Health - Tobacco