Lung Cancer Risk Factors: Women and Tobacco Smoking
Posted by Greg Stanley on Thu, Sep 16, 2010
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 178,000 women in the United States die from tobacco smoking. Approximately 45,000 of them die of lung cancer. More women die from smoking-related lung cancer than from smoking-related heart disease (40,000) and chronic lung disease (42,000).
The trend in lung cancer deaths among women has been strongly on the rise since 1950. (Perhaps not coincidentally, that was about the time smoking became “fashionable” for women as well as men.) Whatever the cause, the death toll has risen by 600 percent. Today, more women die of smoking-related lung cancer than breast cancer.
Lung cancer isn’t the only disease resulting from women’s tobacco smoking. There are other cancers associated with smoking, including cancer of the esophagus, larynx, mouth, throat, kidney, bladder, pancreas, stomach and cervix.
Quitting tobacco smoking appears to have significant beneficial effects in terms of lung cancer. From about the fifth year after smoking cessation, a woman’s risk of dying from lung cancer begins to decline.
Of course, quitting isn’t easy, as anyone who has tried can attest. But the National Cancer Institute does list some resources available for women who want to kick the habit:
• Smokefree.gov is a joint effort of the NCI and the CDC, along with other organizations. The site offers publications for people who want to quit smoking or people who have already quit and want to stay smoke-free. Publications in Spanish are available, as well as others aimed at particular ethnic groups and ages.
• The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services provides the National Network of Tobacco Cessation Quitlines (1-800-QUITNOW). In cooperation with the states, the network helps callers obtain information and refers them to nearby resources.
• NCI also has a Smokefree Women website in conjunction with the CDC and other groups. The site features an online cessation guide and other tools to help women stop smoking and remain tobacco-free.
• The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services also operates a website through its Office on Women’s Health. “Smoking and How to Quit” provides information and resources for women who want to leave tobacco smoking behind.
Women who want to be tobacco-free have no shortage of resources to turn to. Given the primacy of tobacco smoking among the risk factors for lung cancer and other diseases, it seems that a little exploration would be well worth one’s time.
