It is estimated that there are 1.3 billion smokers in the world according to the World Health Organization (WHO). It is expected that smoking will kill approximately 6.5 million people by the year 2015. Statistics show that more than 18 percent of all deaths in the USA annually occur as a result of smoking. In 2009 there were 46 million smokers in the USA alone according to The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) .
It is a well known fact that smoking causes an increase in the prevalence of some types of cancer. Tar has been identified as the primary cause. The smoke itself is seen as cancer causing and affects not only the smoker, but also the nonsmoker who inhales environmental tobacco smoke. A cigarette contains between 60 to 80 different cancer-causing agents.
Which Cancers Does Smoking Cause?
When many people think of smoking and cancer, only lung cancer comes to mind. However, smoking has been linked to many other types of cancer. Six of the cancers most often associated with the habit are:
1. Lung
2. Bladder
3. Mouth
4. Esophageal
5. Throat
6. Larynx
Evidence is also emerging that smoking may have an impact on other cancers such ovarian, liver, stomach, bowel and breast. Research has shown that smoking over time causes a buildup of dangerous poisons in the body which damages the organs and inhibits normal functioning of the body. Some of these toxins are cadmium, benzene and arsenic. Individually these compounds are dangerous, when combined they are deadly. Scientists have found that the blood of smokers has 10 times as much arsenic as that of nonsmokers.
There can be no doubt based on the number of studies done over the years that smoking is a prime cause of cancer in humans. The good news is that for many people, most of the cancers listed above can be prevented by not smoking.
