New Surgeon General's Report Expands List of Diseases Caused by
Smoking
U.S. Surgeon General Richard H. Carmona today released a new
comprehensive report on smoking and health, revealing for the
first time that smoking causes diseases in nearly every organ of
the body. Published 40 years after the surgeon general's first
report on smoking -- which concluded that smoking was a definite
cause of three serious diseases -- this newest report finds that
cigarette smoking is conclusively linked to diseases such as
leukemia, cataracts, pneumonia and cancers of the cervix,
kidney, pancreas and stomach. "We've known for decades that
smoking is bad for your health, but this report shows that it's
even worse than we knew," Dr. Carmona said. "The toxins from
cigarette smoke go everywhere the blood flows. I'm hoping this
new information will help motivate people to quit smoking and
convince young people not to start in the first place."
According to the report, smoking kills an estimated 440,000
Americans each year. On average, men who smoke cut their lives
short by 13.2 years, and female smokers lose 14.5 years. The
economic toll exceeds $157 billion each year in the United
States -- $75 billion in direct medical costs and $82 billion in
lost productivity. "We need to cut smoking in this country and
around the world," HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson said.
"Smoking is the leading preventable cause of death and disease,
costing us too many lives, too many dollars and too many tears.
If we are going to be serious about improving health and
preventing disease we must continue to drive down tobacco use.
And we must prevent our youth from taking up this dangerous
habit." In 1964, the Surgeon General's report announced medical
research showing that smoking was a definite cause of cancers of
the lung and larynx (voice box) in men and chronic bronchitis in
both men and women. Later reports concluded that smoking causes
a number of other diseases such as cancers of the bladder,
oesophagus, mouth and throat; cardiovascular diseases; and
reproductive effects. Today's new report, The Health
Consequences of Smoking: A Report of the Surgeon General,
expands the list of illness and conditions linked to smoking.
The new illnesses and diseases are cataracts, pneumonia, acute
myeloid leukemia, abdominal aortic aneurysm, stomach cancer,
pancreatic cancer, cervical cancer, kidney cancer and
periodontitis. Statistics indicate that more than 12 million
Americans have died from smoking since the 1964 report of the
surgeon general, and another 25 million Americans alive today
will most likely die of a smoking-related illness. The report's
release comes in advance of World No Tobacco Day, an annual
event on May 31 that focuses global attention on the health
hazards of tobacco use. The goals of World No Tobacco Day are to
raise awareness about the dangers of tobacco use, encourage
people not to use tobacco, motivate users to quit and encourage
countries to implement comprehensive tobacco control programs.
The report concludes that smoking reduces the overall health of
smokers, contributing to such conditions as hip fractures,
complications from diabetes, increased wound infections
following surgery, and a wide range of reproductive
complications. For every premature death caused each year by
smoking, there are at least 20 smokers living with a serious
smoking-related illness. Another major conclusion, consistent
with recent findings of other scientific studies, is that
smoking so-called low-tar or low-nicotine cigarettes does not
offer a heath benefit over smoking regular or "full-flavor"
cigarettes. "There is no safe cigarette, whether it is called
'light,' ultra-light,' or any other name," Dr. Carmona said.
"The science is clear: the only way to avoid the health hazards
of smoking is to quit completely or to never start smoking." The
report concludes that quitting smoking has immediate and
long-term benefits, reducing risks for diseases caused by
smoking and improving health in general. "Within minutes and
hours after smokers inhale that last cigarette, their bodies
begin a series of changes that continue for years," Dr. Carmona
said. "Among these health improvements are a drop in heart rate,
improved circulation, and reduced risk of heart attack, lung
cancer and stroke. By quitting smoking today a smoker can assure
a healthier tomorrow." Dr. Carmona said it is never too late to
stop smoking. Quitting smoking at age 65 or older reduces by
nearly 50 percent a person's risk of dying of a smoking-related
disease.