The scary truth about smoking!

Smoking is the largest cause of cancer in the UK, accounting for 15% of all cancer cases.¹ It’s Halloween, so scary stuff is expected, right? Why is it that when smoking is the biggest culprit for cancer related deaths in the UK people are still smoking? Tens of thousands of people die every year from cancers which were entirely preventable.

Smokers get a hard time everywhere they go these days, but if it was as easy as just deciding to give up and then doing it, nobody would smoke. But it isn’t, it’s an addiction and there’s nothing straight forward about addiction. Vaping is 95% less harmful than smoking.²

Still not convinced that smoking is bad?  Here are some more scary statistics and statements from Cancer Research UK¹ to help clarify just how deadly smoking is.

• Research has shown that for every 15 cigarettes smoked, there is a DNA change which could cause a cell in the body to become cancerous. But the best way to reduce your risk is to stop smoking completely.
• There are around 35,300 lung cancer deaths in the UK every year, that’s 97 every day (2015-2017).
• Lung cancer is the most common cause of cancer death in the UK, accounting for 21% of all cancer deaths (2017).
• Passive smoking can be deadly. It can increase a non-smoker’s risk of getting lung cancer and may also increase the risk of other cancers including of the larynx (voice box) and pharynx (upper throat). That includes kids.

References

1. Cancer Research UK
2. McNeill, A. et al. Evidence review of e- cigarettes and heated tobacco products 2018. A report commissioned by Public Health England (2018).