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Cigarette Smoking-Related Mortality
Cigarette smoking is the single most preventable cause of premature death in the United States. Each year, more than 400,000 Americans die from cigarette smoking. In fact, one in every five deaths in the United States is smoking related. Every year, smoking kills more than 276,000 men and 142,000 women.1
Between 1960 and 1990, deaths from lung cancer among women have increased by more than 400%–exceeding breast cancer deaths in the mid-1980s.2 The American Cancer Society estimated that in 1994, 64,300 women died from lung cancer and 44,300 died from breast cancer.3
Men who smoke increase their risk of death from lung cancer by more than 22 times and from bronchitis and emphysema by nearly 10 times. Women who smoke increase their risk of dying from lung cancer by nearly 12 times and the risk of dying from bronchitis and emphysema by more than 10 times. Smoking triples the risk of dying from heart disease among middle-aged men and women.1
Every year in the United States, premature deaths from smoking rob more than five million years from the potential lifespan of those who have died.1
Annually, exposure to secondhand smoke (or environmental tobacco smoke) causes an estimated 3,000 deaths from lung cancer among American adults.4 Scientific studies also link secondhand smoke with heart disease.
Disease
Women
Overall
Cancers
81,179
35,741
116,920
Lung from ETS
1,055
1,945
3,000
Other
21,659
9,743
31,402
Total
103,893
47,429
151,322
Cardiovascular Diseases
Hypertension
3,233
2,151
5,450
Heart Disease
88,644
45,591
134,235
Stroke
14,978
8,303
23,281
Other
11,682
5,172
16,854
Total
118,603
61,117
179,820
Respiratory Diseases
Pneumonia
11,292
7,881
19,173
Bronchitis/ Emphysema
9,234
5,541
14,865
Chronic Airway Obstruction
30,385
18,579
48,982
Other
1,455
Total
51,788
32,689
84,475
Diseases Among Infants
1,006
1,711
Burn Deaths
1,362
All Causes
276,153
142,537
418,690
References
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Smoking-attributable mortality and years of potential life lost — United States, 1990. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 1993;42(33):645-8.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Mortality trends for selected smoking-related and breast cancer — United States, 1950-1990. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 1993;42(44):857, 863-6.
American Cancer Society. Cancer Facts & Figures — 1996. Atlanta (GA): American Cancer Society, 1996.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Respiratory Health Effects of Passive Smoking: Lung Cancer and Other Disorders. Washington (DC): U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Health and Environmental Assessment, Office of Research and Development. EPA/600/6-90/006F. December 1992.
June 2001
If you have reached The Lung Cancer and Cigarette Smoking Web
Lung cancer is the number one cause of cancer deaths in both men and women in the United States.
More than 154,000 Americans will die from lung cancer in 2002.
Only 12-15% of patients with lung cancer are being cured with todays treatments.
More than 90% of lung cancers are preventable.
Definition: “A cigarette is a euphemism for a cleverly crafted product that delivers just the right amount of nicotine to keep its user addicted for life before killing the person. World Health Organization director-general Gro Harlem Brundtland
Recent polls indicate that, despite all accumulated knowledge on the subject of diseases caused by tobacco products, a shockingly high percentage of smokers continue to believe that their cigarettes will not cause them harm. This page is dedicated to changing this intolerable ignorance. It is my hope that anyone who visits here and browses through the pages of the Lung Cancer and Cigarette Smoking Web
A recent National Cancer Institute focus group suggests that many ex-smokers believe that they are no longer at risk for lung cancer. This is a dangerous misperception. Unfortunately, some risk of lung cancer persists for many years following smoking cessation. The good news is that the risk diminishes with the passage of time.
The overwhelming majority