Half of all cancers could be prevented through healthy lifestyle choices. The first healthy habit in our Five Healthy Lifestyle Habits to Reduce Cancer Risk is avoiding tobacco. This is the first and most important habit on our list because tobacco use is the number one preventable cause of cancer.

According to the National Cancer Institute, “Tobacco is the leading cause of cancer and of death from cancer.” Every year, 20 percent of deaths in the U.S. are caused by smoking. Smoking also causes around a third of all cancer deaths in the nation. “Each year, more than 480,000 people in the United States die from illnesses related to tobacco use" (American Cancer Society).

Burning tobacco releases 7,000 chemicals into your body. Among the chemicals released, “at least 250 are known to be harmful” (National Cancer Institute). And out of those 250 chemicals, at least 69 are carcinogenic (a cancer-causing substance). Cigarette smoking can cause multiple cancers including acute myeloid leukemia and cancer of the bladder, cervix, colon, esophagus, kidney, larynx, liver, lung, mouth, pancreas, rectum, stomach and throat.

Cigarette smoking doesn’t only put you at risk for multiple cancers and other chronic diseases. Smoking also poses a risk to those around you. Secondhand smoke kills more than 41,000 people every year, with more than 7,000 attributed to lung cancer (American Lung Association). 

Since electronic cigarettes, better known as “e-cigarettes” or “e-cigs,” are a relatively new product, we currently don’t know all there is to know about them. However, we do know that they are not a safe alternative to traditional smoking. E-cigarettes contain nicotine, which is a highly addictive substance. The aerosol from e-cigarettes contains formaldehyde, which is “an International Agency for Research on Cancer group 1 carcinogen” (The New England Journal of Medicine). There are many other chemicals included in the liquid in e-cigarettes, and FDA lab tests in 2009 “found detectable levels of toxic cancer-causing chemicals, including an ingredient used in anti-freeze, in two leading brands of e-cigarettes and 18 various cartridges” (American Lung Association).

E-cigarettes also do not help people quit smoking. A 2016 report published in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine found that compared to cigarette smokers who do not use e-cigarettes, those who do are 28% less likely to quit smoking cigarettes. “E-cigarettes are associated with significantly less quitting among smokers” (The Lancet Respiratory Medicine).

Smokeless tobacco (mainly chewing tobacco and snuff) is also harmful to the body. There are at least 28 carcinogenic chemicals in smokeless tobacco that can lead to cancer of the mouth, esophagus and pancreas.

If you have smoked for years and think there’s no point in quitting – you’re wrong. “No matter how long you have smoked, quitting can reduce your risk for cancer and other chronic diseases” (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). The health benefits of quitting are many and can be seen in as little as 20 minutes after putting out your last cigarette. 

If you find yourself struggling with tobacco and are ready to quit, please contact us at 479-361-5847. Our tobacco treatment specialists offer tobacco cessation to individuals and organizations in our community. Click below to view a video of one longtime smoker who was able to quit after working with our Cancer Prevention & Education team.

Make it your goal this month to adopt Habit #1 of our Healthy Lifestyle Habits to Reduce Cancer Risk, and always remember that “there is no safe form of tobacco” (National Cancer Institute).