Despite remarkable advancements in diagnosis and treatment of lung cancer, it is still one of the rampant causes of global deaths. According to Dr. Nassir Dehghan, a member of Iranian Anti-Tobacco Association, tobacco use can cause 80 to 90% of lung, as well as 30% of gastric and bladder cancers.
Statistics show that 9 in 10 victims of lung cancer (90%) were tobacco smokers, while the fatality rate for this group is 7 out of 8, indicating 87% of lives lost due to smoking.
Lung cancer risks are 20 times higher in male smokers, while it is five times in female smokers, said Dehghan, quoted by IRNA.
He emphasized that smoking during the process of cancer treatment has devastating effect on prognosis and treatment; in addition to disruptive influence on removal of tumors, chemotherapy and radiotherapy. “Lung disorders, heart ailments, immune system diseases, anesthesia complications, and unsuccessful tumor removal surgeries are some of the likely side effects of persistent tobacco smoking among cancer patients.”
Carcinogenic
Cigarette smoke contains 4000 chemicals, with 60 of them known to be carcinogenic, thus exposing a smoker to more than 20 types of cancers. Moreover, factors such as age and gender; contact with chemical and industrial substances, and environmental pollution, especially air pollution, can exacerbate cancer.
Dehghan also referred to the established links between drug abuse and cancer types - bladder tumor is more prevalent in men who use opium, while smoking in women is associated with higher incidents of cervical cancer; marijuana abuse on the other hand is linked with testicle cancer in men.
Studies show that mouth, larynx, throat, and bladder cancers are higher among hookah smokers, and it is long known that alcohol abuse leads to gastric, breast, and liver cancers.
