Ask the Doc: David Hill, MD, FCCP Director of Clinical Research at Waterbury Pulmonary Associates
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Why is smoking bad for our health, and how can quitting smoking reduce your risk of cancer?
Dr. Hill: We’ve known that smoking is bad for our health for more than 50 years. The first Surgeon General’s report on smoking and lung cancer came out in 1964. Smoking is obviously bad for our health because of lung cancer risk, but it’s bad for our health for a variety of reasons.
We see increases in chronic lung disease, asthma, and COPD in smokers, and we see worsening cardiovascular disease, which means increased risk of heart attacks and strokes. Smoking is also associated with other cancers, such as head and neck and bladder cancers.
The most important way to reduce cancer risk related to smoking is if you don’t smoke, don’t start, and if you do smoke, talk with your healthcare providers about the best options for quitting.
And it’s never too late to stop. Even if you’ve done damage by smoking, the sooner you stop, the less damage you’ll do. Each person needs to find the method that works best for them.