Smoking cigarettes significantly increases the risk of developing cancer. It causes at least 16 different types of cancer and is the leading cause of lung cancer. Smoking also contributes to other diseases, including heart disease and various lung conditions.
To mitigate your cancer risk, cessation of smoking is imperative. Both the quantity of cigarettes smoked daily and the duration of smoking affect your cancer risk. The greater the number of cigarettes you smoke daily, the higher your risk of developing cancer. Therefore, reducing your daily cigarette consumption is a beneficial first step. However, the duration of smoking has a more substantial impact on your cancer risk. Consequently, it is crucial to devise a plan to quit smoking entirely.
The earlier you quit smoking, the lower your risk of cancer. Everyone who smokes can benefit from quitting, and it is never too late to stop smoking, even if you have been smoking for years.
Types of Cancer Caused by Smoking
The correlation between smoking and cancer is well-established. Smoking is responsible for at least 16 different types of cancer, including two of the most prevalent types: lung cancer and bowel cancer.
The cancers caused by smoking include:
- Nasal and sinus cancer
- Oral cancer
- Pharyngeal (upper throat) cancer
- Laryngeal (voice box) cancer
- Esophageal (food pipe) cancer
- Lung cancer
- Breast cancer
- Liver cancer
- Stomach cancer
- Kidney cancer
- Pancreatic cancer
- Bowel cancer
- Ovarian cancer
- Bladder cancer
- Cervical cancer
- Certain types of leukemia
Mechanism of Smoking-Induced Cancer
Smoking induces cancer through multiple mechanisms, predominantly by damaging cellular DNA. DNA governs how cells grow and function. When DNA is damaged, cells may behave abnormally, leading to cancer.
Cigarette smoke contains over 5,000 chemicals, many of which are harmful. At least 70 of these chemicals are known carcinogens. When smoking, these harmful chemicals enter the lungs and affect the entire body, damaging DNA, including those parts that protect against cancer. Additionally, chemicals in cigarette smoke impede the cell’s ability to repair DNA damage, allowing damage to accumulate.
The accumulation of DNA damage in the same cell over time leads to cancer. Therefore, quitting smoking is critical to reduce the risk of cancer and improve overall health.
Does vaping cause lung cancer?
Vaping, using electronic cigarettes or e-cigarettes, is a different method of consuming nicotine and other substances, as these devices heat a liquid into a vapor rather than burning tobacco. While the vapor from e-cigarettes is generally considered less harmful than traditional cigarette smoke, the long-term health effects of vaping are still not fully understood. Early studies, including one from March 2024, have found DNA changes in the oral cells of both e-cigarette users and traditional smokers, which in smokers have been linked to the future development of lung cancer. However, these findings do not conclusively prove that vaping will lead to cancer. The definitive long-term effects of vaping on lung cancer risk remain to be determined due to the relatively recent introduction and use of e-cigarettes.
