In just 5 years tobacco caused 2.4 million cases of cancer in the U.S.

Sep 8 2008

The latest report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the U.S. reveals some shocking figures.

The CDC report says in the five year period between 1999 to 2004, tobacco was responsible for 2.4 million cases of cancer in the U.S.

Top of the table were as might be expected, lung and bronchial cancer which accounted for almost half the cases, but the CDC says cancers of the larynx, mouth and pharynx, esophagus, stomach, pancreas, kidney, bladder, cervix, as well as acute myelogenous leukemia, were also found to be caused by tobacco.

The CDC says the data in the report provides additional, strong evidence of the serious harm associated with tobacco use.

Dr. Sherri Stewart of the CDC's Cancer Prevention and Control Division, who led the study, and her colleagues examined cancer surveys and registries covering 92 percent of the U.S. population.

The study revealed Kentucky had the highest rates of lung cancer among men and women, while western states with low rates of smoking also had low rates of cancer; tobacco-related cancers were more common among blacks, non-Hispanic whites and men, reflecting the groups that use tobacco more.

The CDC says tobacco use is the leading preventable cause of disease and premature death in the United States and the most prominent cause of cancer.

Dr. Matthew McKenna, from the CDC says tobacco use causes a third of the cancers in America, kills 438,000 people prematurely every year, including 38,000 people who breathe secondhand smoke.

The CDC says tobacco use causes more deaths each year than alcohol use, car crashes, suicide HIV/AIDS, homicide, and illegal drug use combined and accounts for $167 billion annually in health care expenditures and productivity losses.

For the report the CDC researchers analyzed data from the National Program of Cancer Registries and the National Cancer Institute (NCI) Surveillance, Epidemiology and Results Program.

The study is the first by the CDC reporting on all tobacco-related cancers for more than 90 percent of the population.