Cancer and Tobacco Use - CDC Vitalsigns Report
05 Mar 2017
Tobacco use causes many cancers
Tobacco use is the leading preventable cause of cancer and cancer deaths. It can cause not only lung cancer — but also cancers of the mouth and throat, voice box, esophagus, stomach, kidney, pancreas, liver, bladder, cervix, colon and rectum, and a type of leukemia. Each year, 660,000 people in the US are diagnosed with and 343,000 people die from a cancer related to tobacco use. We have made progress: more than 1 million tobacco-related cancer deaths have been avoided since 1990 because of comprehensive cancer and tobacco control programs, early detection of cancer, and improvements in cancer treatment. However, not all states or all people have experienced the benefits of these efforts. When states make greater and longer investments in comprehensive cancer and tobacco control programs, fewer people use tobacco and get or die from tobacco-related cancers.
States and communities can:
- Support comprehensive cancer control programs focusing on cancer prevention, education, screening, access to care, support for cancer survivors, and good health for all.
- Fund comprehensive tobacco prevention and control programs at CDC-recommended levels.
- Make tobacco cessation treatments more available to people who want to quit.
- Protect nonsmokers from secondhand smoke in all indoor public places and worksites, including all restaurants, bars, and casinos.
SOURCE: CDC Vital Signs, November, 2016