Smoking Risk and Cancer

Risk Factors for Cancer

The burning question for most smokers (no pun intended) is what is their individual risk of developing a smoking related cancer? Of course there is really no way of knowing the exact risk. Statistics give population risks based on a large data set that are difficult to extrapolate back to the individual smoker. Also cancer is common. One in three people will develop cancer, of some form, during their lives. Smoking is not the only risk factor involved in the complex mix that is cancer risk. Diet and other life style choices have a role to play. But even those who lead exemplary lives (not many surely) are still at risk. The medical profession acknowledge that there are also genetic components that influence cancer risk.

Smoking and Lung Cancer

When people think about smoking related cancers they immediately think of lung cancer (also known as pulmonary cancer). The risk of developing pulmonary cancer is dependent on how long you have smoked and how much you have smoked. If you have quit then the length of time as a non-smoker becomes important. The majority of patients with lung cancer are active or ex-smokers. However, approximately 10% of lung cancer sufferers have never smoked. The association of lung cancer and smoking is well established. Tobacco smoke contains numerous chemical of which about 40 are known carcinogens (cancer causing). These chemicals cause changes in cellular DNA which can lead to cells becoming deregulated and ultimately cancerous. Overall the risk of a smoker developing lung cancer is about one in eight. To gain some perspective this risk should be compared to the risk of non-smokers developing the disease, which is about one in a hundred. Therefore smoking, on average, increases your lung cancer risk by about ten fold. Although the average risk of contracting smoking related lung cancer is about 13% this tells us nothing about individual risk. Average risks are just that, average and individual humans are anything but average. Some lifelong smokers will never get lung cancer, whilst others are at very high risk of developing the condition. Lung cancer is extremely tough to treat and long-term survival rates are depressingly poor. The five year survival rate from diagnosis is only 5%.

Smoking and Cancer

Lung cancer is not the only cancer to be associated with smoking. Smoking has been identified as an associated risk factor in kidney, pancreatic, esophageal, stomach, mouth, larynx cervical and breast cancers. Recent research implicates smoking in the development of a specific type of leukaemia called acute myeloid leukaemia. Apart from cancer there is a whole host of nasty diseases that are directly caused by cancer including heart and vascular diseases. Inhaled smoke damages healthy lung tissue resulting in emphysema and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. It has been estimated that around 50% of smokers will eventually die of a smoking induced condition. It is sobering to note that only 42% of male lifelong smokers will reach 73 years of age compared to 78% of non-smokers.

Everyone makes poor choices, at sometime in their lives. Prudent individuals learn from their mistakes and aim not to repeat them. Cigarette smoking is a poor life choice. Unfortunately, due to the addictive nature of nicotine, it is a habit that smokers are doomed to repeat.

George Davis is a professional scientist with 25 years experience as a Human Geneticist. His passion is helping smokers give up their deadly habit. If you are a smoker and are serious about quitting then visit Tips To Help Stop Smoking for no non-sense help and advice. TipsToHelpStopSmoking. Providing quality quit smoking writings, articles and reviews online.