World No Tobacco Day is observed around the world every year on May 31. According to the article The Price that China Cannot Bear — The Effects of Tobacco Prevalence on Health, Life and Economic and Social Loss published in 2017 by WHO, smoking will lead to 2 million deaths in the future. 

About the harm of tobacco, how much do you know?

Relationship between Smoking and Cancer

While smoking, the smoke generated will enter the body through respiratory movement and reach each corner of body through blood circulation. The smoke contains more than 7000 chemical substances, among which at least 70, such as nicotine, alkane, olefin, benzopyrene, etc. have been confirmed to damage normal tissue.

These damaged tissues, while repairing themselves, increase cell division and duplication, thus increasing cancer risks.

Cancer Types

Research shows that smoking will increase the risk of the following cancers::

the picture is from cdc.gov website

The Relationship between Smoking Time and Cancer Rate

The earlier one quits smoking, the less likely he develops cancer. The following figure shows the relationship between the age at which smoking was stopped and cancer rates.

It can be seen clearly from the above data that if one quits smoking at 50, the chance he/she suffers cancer will be reduced by two thirds.

Reduced Ten-Year Life Expectancy

The 7,000 chemical substances contained in smoke can not only cause cancer, but also damage organs such as the lung, cardiovascular system, etc..

According to the above chart, smoking leads to more than 480,000 deaths, among which 29% are caused by lung cancer while 71% by other cancers or diseases. In addition, research has demonstrated that non-smokers have more than ten years’ life expectancy than smokers.

Affect Children’s Intelligence

According to some latest research, secondhand smoking not only causes cancer, but also affects children’s intelligence. Furthermore, if children are often exposed to a secondhand smoking environment, they may develop a series of diseases such as asthma, chronic coughing, expectoration, dyspnea, lower respiratory illness, etc.

 Final Words

The whole country is taking actions to create a non-smoking environment. We individuals should also respond to national calls and quit smoking.

    Special Contributor: Dr. Tai-ze Yuan

 Society of Tumor Microenvironment (in preparation), China Anti-cancer Association

Guangzhou Concord Cancer Center