Cancer and Smoking 

Cigarette smoking is often said to cause cancer, most prominently lung cancer and cancer of the larynx. The evidence is very strong.

Normal cells may be damaged, but they have the ability to repair themselves. In other cases, the cells are sloughed off and eliminated by the lymph system, then replaced by new ones. But this process can go awry. Cells can grow abnormally, taking on inappropriate shapes and performing incorrectly. When they do, and that growth reaches a certain level that the body can't cope with, the result is cancer.

It is known that cigarette smoke contains many carcinogenic substances.

Tar, for example, is present in cigarette smoke chiefly from the burning paper that holds the tobacco, about 10-14 mg per cigarette. It gradually builds up in the alveoli, the small sacs in the lung that make possible absorption of oxygen into the blood stream. It's believed that their presence is a continual irritant to the cells. That irritation eventually leads to uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells.

Other compounds, called nitrosamines, are present in varying amounts. They're known to be carcinogenic from hundreds of clinical studies on small mammals. NNK is present in a very low concentration: 56.53 nanograms per cigarette. Other nitrosamines, like NNN and NAT, are present in roughly similar amounts.

A few dozen nanograms (one billionth of a gram - 1 g = 0.0353 oz) may sound like a small amount. But sometimes small amounts can have a large effect. Dog's noses, for example, are so sensitive that they can detect a few molecules of certain substances. Some systems in humans are equally sensitive to certain chemicals. Add to that the fact that many of the compounds and their effects are cumulative and the case begins to look very strong.

A person's genetic predisposition also plays a part in developing cancer. For example, some people may develop cancer from smoking just a few cigarettes, while other people could smoke many cigarettes daily into old age and still not get cancer.

Statistically, if you smoke then the odds are well against you. A smoker who consumes a pack a day for 20 years has 2-4 times the chances of getting lung cancer than a non-smoker. Second-hand smoking has also been shown to have a significantly negative impact on people. Second-hand smoke is the smoke that non-smokers inhale when in the company of smokers. This is why many governments are now banning smoking in any confined public area outright - including pubs and bars. It is also why they are getting tough with anti-smoking campaigns and banning advertisements for cigarettes.

It's estimated that 87% of lung cancers are attributable to the smoking habit. Don't let the odds get you. Start a stop-smoking program now.