Tobacco Facts

It is interesting to see how prevalent cigarette smoking has remained despite the link between smoking and various cancers. The facts are there for all to see. Yet we still smoke at alarming rates. Recent data suggests a modest decline in cigarette use among US high school students. However, the reduced rates are similar to that of about ten to fifteen years ago.

I had previously run a poll on cancer deaths. The question was – What is the most common cause of cancer deaths worldwide? The results were as follows;

Answer 1 – High Fat Diet (4), Answer 2 – Lack of Exercise (2), Answer 3 – Air Pollution (0), Answer 4 – Smoking (10) and Answer 5 – UV Radiation (0)

I was glad to see that most persons chose smoking. That is the correct answer. Choosing high fat diet and lack of exercise are reasonable choices as well. These are also significant health risks, but just not as high for cancer death.

Tobacco not only causes most cases of lung cancer, but the latter is the leading cause of cancer deaths. This is frightening considering that many smokers become hooked at an early age when they are most vulnerable to persuasion. This comes in the form of peer pressure and advertisements, neither of which should be underestimated.

However, this situation also gives us some hope. If tobacco use is associated with about 30% of cancer deaths and it is preventable, this leave a lot of scope for cancer prevention.

Of course, this will require some very hard decisions indeed. For example, should cigarette manufacturers be held more accountable and in what way(s)? What do you think?

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