- What Causes Lung Cancer? - The Smoking Facts, Fiction, and Figures About Bronchogenic Carcinoma
Is smoking what causes lung cancer? Historically health care professionals and scientists
suspected that cigarette smoking and lung cancer were somehow related.
The smoking facts gathered
through years of rigorous epidemiological studies have now shown that indeed bronchogenic carcinoma or
cancer of the lung is one of the very real health dangers of cigarette
smoking.
The Historical Smoking Facts About Lung Cancer or Bronchogenic Carcinoma
Tobacco has been suspected of causing all kinds health effects since it was first introduced to Europe
in the 1600's.
Physicians began noticing new and different health problems as tobacco became used more commonly.
Diseases like nasal
cancer were noted among among people who used snuff and breathing problems like
emphysema and chronic bronchitis
were noted to be more common among their patients who were regular users of cigarettes and
other forms of inhaled tobacco smoke.
At the time, however, air quality in cities was very poor and is was assumed that the
air pollution from coal was the cause of most breathing problems. Smokers and non-smokers alike were
equally susceptible to this common cause of
chronic bronchitis.
Then, after the second world war and a few decades after the commercial cigarette was mass manufactured and
intensely marketed,
the cases of lung cancer in the population started to rise dramatically.
This of course piqued the interest of scientists who were engaged in an emerging field of study called
surveillance epidemiology. They then set out to use their rigorous data collection and statistical
analysis methods to determine
if lung cancer was caused by smoking cigarettes.
As the evidence mounted the tobacco manufacturers would not accept the evidence that the
customers who provided their profits could get
lung cancer from smoking their cigarettes,
and in fact tried to cover up the mounting body of evidence that the health dangers of cigarette
smoking included a grim and certainly fatal disease called bronchogenic carcinoma.
The Smoking Facts About Lung Cancer Are Clear
Since about 1940 there have been numerous studies that all come to the same conclusion and that is:
More than 90% of people diagnosed with lung cancer have a history of
smoking cigarettes.
On examination of the evidence it is pretty clear that smoking is what causes lung cancer.
Of course you can ignore the evidence and continue to believe your own
smoking fiction if you like,
but if smoking is not what causes lung cancer then why do tobacco companies put warnings on their products that the user may get lung
cancer?
While reluctant to include such messages at first, tobacco companies eventually realized that putting such messages on their product actually reduced
their liability.
After all, if consumers were warned about the risks that were now being proven over and over again by
statistical study and analysis, then how could they then hold the
cigarette company responsible if they fell victim to the many health dangers of cigarette smoking?
More Smoking Facts
The smoking facts show a relationship between smoking and lung cancer. They do not show
that everybody who smokes will get lung cancer. They only show that most people with lung cancer
have a history of exposure to cigarette smoke.
After all, many smokers do not get lung cancer. Instead they get all kinds of other cancers like:
The purpose of the information provided here is to help you cooperate with your doctor and other
health practitioners. It is not intended to take the place of medical advice and you are encouraged to
discuss health concerns with your physician or a professional health care provider who is
familiar with you and your unique personal health context.
