[Tumors as sequelae of smoking]

Cigarette smoking is the most frequent cause of cancer related death in industrial countries. Smokers have a more than doubled risk of dying from cancer related disease. Tobacco is the cause of 90% of observed carcinomas in organs or tissues such as mouth, throat, esophagus, and lungs, which have direct contact to tobacco smoke. In addition, other organs such as the pancreas, bladder, cervix, and bone marrow develop malignancies of systemic diseases in smoking more frequently than in non-smoking persons. This is explained by the distribution of tobacco carcinogens and their metabolites via the bloodstream and a specific accumulation of these products in certain organs. There is a clear dose-response relationship between tobacco smoke and carcinomas. Side stream smoking is also known to cause cancer. It increases the incidence of bronchial carcinoma by a factor of 1.3. The fact that 25-30% of all cancer related deaths could have been prevented by not smoking, has a large social implications when one considers that half of the people dying from tobacco related causes are in working age.