Stop Smoking Way

London (PTI): Smokers, beware! Puffing causes hundreds of thousands more deaths than previously thought, a new study has revealed.

An international team, led by researchers at Glasgow University, has found that smoking increases chances of dying from cancers of the colon, rectum and prostate as well as from lymphatic leukaemia.

As per World Health Organisation statistics, these illnesses are responsible for 930,000 deaths worldwide every year, in addition to more than five million smoking-related deaths caused by diseases such as lung cancer. The new study is based on data from 17,363 male civil servants based in London, the ‘Scotsman’ reported.

It found a 43 per cent increase in the chances of dying from cancer of the colon, a 40 per cent higher risk of dying from rectal cancer; a 23 per cent increase in chances of losing one’s life to prostate cancer; and a 53 per cent rise in mortality from lymphatic leukaemia among smokers. “Cigarette smoking appears to be a risk factor for several malignancies of previously unclear association with tobacco use,” the researchers were quoted by the leading Scottish newspaper as saying.

Added Dr David Batty of Glasgow University: “What this study shows is that smoking is linked to more kinds of cancer than previously thought. “It’s important to remember that cancer is not a single disease and that the various kinds of cancers are different illnesses so you couldn’t necessarily assume that smoking was linked to them in the same way. What’s unclear is how exactly smoking causes these cancers.”

The results of the study have been published in the latest edition of the ‘Annals of Oncology’ journal.

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Tags: Smoking