• Question: How much does smoking influence lung cancer?

    Asked by logic to Sarah on 10 Jun 2011.
    • Photo: Sarah Thomas

      Sarah Thomas answered on 10 Jun 2011:

      This website is for patients and families that have cancer and it has some really helpful information:

      http://info.cancerresearchuk.org/cancerstats/types/lung/riskfactors/

      Around 86% of lung cancer deaths in the UK are CAUSED by smoking and at the moment current smokers are 15 times more likely to die from lung cancer than life-long non-smokers.

      In 2008, 35,261 people died from lung cancer. That’s a lot of people.

      The problem is that smoking damages your healthy lung tissue and introduces harmful chemicals into your body. Cigarette smoke contains 4000 different chemicals and 50 of there are Carcinogens. A Carcinogen is a chemical that is proven to cause cancer in humans. When I work with carcinogens in the lab I wear all my safety gear including a mask so I don’t breathe it in!

      The risk of developing lung cancer is affected by level of consumption and duration of smoking. The more you smoke, the greater your risk and the longer you smoke (e.g. 20 years) the greater your risk.

      I would advise anyone that smokes to cut down immediately.

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