Lung Cancer Awareness: LCAM.org · American Cancer Society · Risk Factors
Great American Smokeout: Nov. 21 · New Jersey Quitline: 866 657 8677 · CDC.gov/Tips · Donate
Different cancers have different risk factors. Lung cancer risk factors, like smoking, can be changed. Others, like a person’s age or family history, can’t be changed.
People who have had radiation therapy to the chest for other cancers are at higher risk for lung cancer, particularly if they smoke. In cities, air pollution (especially near heavily trafficked roads) appears to raise the risk of lung cancer slightly. Brothers, sisters, and children of people who have had lung cancer may have a slightly higher risk of lung cancer themselves, especially if the relative was diagnosed at a younger age.
Marijuana smoke contains tar and many of same cancer-causing substances that are in tobacco smoke. Marijuana is inhaled very deeply and the smoke is held in the lungs for a long time, which gives any cancer-causing substances more opportunity to deposit in the lungs.
CNN.com: Cigarette smoking among US adults fell to its lowest recorded level in 2018: 13.7%, according to a report published Thursday by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.That represents a drop of roughly two-thirds since the CDC started collecting this data in 1965.
The report estimated that 49.1 million US adults, or nearly 1 in 5, used any tobacco product in 2018. Cigarettes were the most common at 13.7%, followed by cigars, cigarillos and little filtered cigars, which were used by 3.9% of adults. E-cigarettes were the third most common tobacco product used by adults, at 3.2%. Their use is attributed partly to increases in vaping among young adults 18 to 24.
The report also found that cigarette smokers have become more likely to try quitting in the previous 12 months, and they have been more successful at doing so.
NJ Quitline is a free telephone-counseling service for smokers who are ready to stop. No matter which quit method you use, the Quitline can more than double your chances for success.