Smoking

SMOKING

• General Information
  45,000 Canadians die from smoking related deaths each year. This is the same as one in every five deaths in Canada.
  For long-time smokers, the chance of dying from a smoking-related cause is, on average, 1 in 2.
  About half of all smoking-related deaths occur before the age of 70. Those who die before the age of 70 lose an average of 22 years of life expectancy. Those who die after the age of 70 lose an average of 8 years of life expectancy.
  
• Smoking and Cancer
  i) Smoking is the single most preventable cause of cancer
  ii) Smoking is responsible for about 30% of all cancer deaths
  iii) Smoking is known to cause or increase one’s risk of developing:
  -Lung Cancer
  -Cancer of the Mouth, Throat (Pharynx), Voice Box (Larynx), and Esophagus
  -Leukemia
  -Bladder Cancer
  -Stomach Cancer
  -Kidney Cancer
  -Pancreatic Cancer
  -Cervical Cancer
  -85% of all lung cancers are caused by smoking.
  
  The risk of lung cancer increases the more you smoke and the longer you smoke. However, there is little known about how much, or for how long, one needs to smoke in order to increase one’s risk of lung cancer.
  The risk of lung cancer in pipe and cigar smokers is approximately double that of non-smokers3
  1 in 10 lifelong smokers will develop the disease.
  smoking increases lung cancer risk by5:
  Causing genetic changes in the cells of the lungs
  Damaging the lungs’ normal cleaning process by which they get rid of foreign and harmful particles
  Lodging cancer-causing particles in the mucus and developing into cancer tumours
  
• Why Quit?
  Quitting smoking reduces the risk of lung cancer. The risk among long-term ex-smokers (i.e. at least 20 years since quitting) is close to the risk of life-long non-smokers.
  Five years after quitting smoking, the risk of developing lung cancer is 30-60% lower.
  Research has shown that women are more vulnerable to lung damage from tobacco than men.
  Although more men are diagnosed with lung cancer than women, the incidence in men is declining. The incidence for women is increasing. This is likely due to the differences in smoking rates between men and women.

• For those already diagnosed with lung cancer
  -Lung cancer patients who quit smoking have fewer complications after surgery
  -Quitting smoking can improve responses to all forms of cancer therapy
  -Quitting smoking after cancer therapy has been associated with a significantly decreased risk of another primary tumour in the lung
  -Quitting smoking can help to improve breathing

Caregivers of Lung Cancer Patients

Quitting smoking is an important show of support, especially if the patient is attempting to quit.