Cancer mortality among nonsmokers in an insured group of U.S. veterans

In a 16-year follow-up of insured U.S. veterans, standardized mortality ratios (SMR) for cancer were calculated for nonsmokers (55,049); as the standard, cancer rates of all respondents (248,046) were used. For all cancers, nonsmokers had an SMR of 71%; for lung cancer, they had an SMR of 21%. The data for nonsmokers were further analyzed with risk of cancer assessed according to residence and usual occupation and industry. Among the nonsmokers, SMR were especially low for dentists, carpenters, and lawyers, and for the electric light and power and printing industries. By division of the country, SMR for nonsmokers were especially low for the Mountain States.