While most people who use tobacco agree that smoking is bad for you, many don’t know tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable death and disease in the United States. Each year about 480,000 people die from diseases related to tobacco use.

• There are more than 7,000 chemicals in cigarette smoke, at least 69 of which have been shown to cause cancer. Other chemicals in cigarette smoke make your body less able to fight cancer.
• Smoking causes about one in every three cancer deaths in the U.S.
• Smoking increases your risk for cancers of the mouth, voice box, throat, esophagus, lungs, stomach, pancreas, kidney, cervix, liver, bladder, and colon/rectum.
• Smoking increases your risk of lung cancer to about 25 times that of a person who doesn’t smoke.
• Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death among people in the U.S. About 80% of lung cancer cases and 80% of lung cancer deaths are caused by smoking.
• On average, people who smoke live about 10 years less than people who don’t smoke.
• People who quit smoking before they turn 40 reduce their risk of dying from a tobacco-related disease by about 90%.

If you want to reduce your risk of cancer, quitting tobacco is a great place to start. There are a lot of resources available to help you live a tobacco-free life. You can start by speaking with your healthcare provider or by checking out the tools and resources here.