Smoking can cause lung cancer.

The 1982 United States Surgeon Generals

report stated that Cigarette smoking is the
major single cause of cancer mortality
[death] in the United States. This statement
is as true today as it was then.
Tobacco use is responsible for nearly 1 in 5
deaths in the United States. Because
cigarette smoking and tobacco use are
acquired behaviors activities that people
choose to do smoking is the most
preventable cause of death in our society.

In Britain in 1948, when surveys of smoking began, smoking

was extremely prevalent among men: 82% smoked some
form of tobacco and 65% were cigarette smokers. By 1970,
the percentage of male cigarette smokers had fallen to 55%.
From the 1970s onwards, smoking prevalence fell rapidly
until the mid-1990s. Since then the rate has continued to fall
slowly and in 2007 around a fifth (22%) of men (aged 16 and
over) were reported as cigarette smokers. Between 2007 and
2009, the rate remained stable, and fell to 21% in 2010
(Figure 6.1).9,10 Trends in lung cancer incidence rates
(shown here from 1975 onwards) reflect the trends in
smoking prevalence in past years.
Figure 6.1: Smoking Prevalence and Lung Cancer Incidence,
by Sex, Great Britain, 1948-2010

Smoking damages the air sacs and airways

in your lungs. It also causes damage to
blood vessels and raises your heart rate
and blood pressure.

Smoking cigarettes is harmful to you and to those

around you. It can lead to a wide range of diseases
and disorders including:
cancers
lung disease
heart and circulation diseases
stomach and duodenal ulcers
erectile dysfunction, infertility
osteoporosis
cataracts and eye disorders
mouth and dental infections
complications in pregnancy and labour

Cigarettes and other types of tobacco products

contain nicotine which is very addictive. Tobacco
smoke contains more than 4,000 chemicals, including
more than 70 cancer-causing chemicals and
hundreds of other poisons.
It is mostly the harmful chemicals that cause illness
and death, and not the nicotine. It is the nicotine,
however, which creates an addiction or craving.
Smoking damages the air sacs and airways in your
lungs. It also causes damage to blood vessels and
raises your heart rate and blood pressure, which puts
you at risk of heart disease and stroke.

This is what happens if

you don't smoke.

This is what happens to

a smokers lungs.

Cigar smoke, like cigarette smoke, contains toxic and

cancer-causing chemicals that are harmful to both
smokers and nonsmokers.
There is no safe tobacco product, and there is no safe
level of exposure to tobacco smoke.
The more you smoke, the greater your risk of disease.
Cigar smoking causes oral cavity cancers (cancers of
the lip, tongue, mouth, and throat) and cancers of the
larynx (voice box), esophagus, and lung.
All cigar and cigarette smokers, whether or not they
inhale, directly expose their lips, mouth, tongue, throat,
and larynx to tobacco smoke and its toxic and cancercausing chemicals.

Lung Cancer is the most common cancer in the

world. In the UK, around 41,500 new cases are
diagnosed each year. It is the most common
cause of cancer death in the Uk, for both men and
women.
Everyone is at risk of developing lung cancer. It is
known that smokers and ex-smokers have an
increased risk of getting lung cancer. However,
please remember that other people who have
never smoked are also at risk of getting this
disease.

Adults:

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

report that about 43.8 million US adults were cigarette
smokers in 2011 (the most recent year for which numbers
are available). This is 19% of all adults (21.6% of men, 16.5%
of women) about 1 out of 5 people.

There were more cigarette smokers in the younger age groups.

In 2011, the CDC reported 22.1% of people 25 to 44 years old
were current smokers, compared with 7.9% of those aged 65 or
older.

Nationwide, 18% of high school students

were smoking cigarettes in 2011. The most
recent survey of middle school students,
done in 2011, shows that about 4% were
smoking cigarettes. In both high schools
and middle schools, white and Hispanic
students were more likely to smoke
cigarettes than other races/ethnicities.