Even more diseases found to be linked to smoking
Posted February 12, 2015 6:47 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – If you’ve been trying to quit smoking but have found your motivation lacking, this might help: New research has found the habit is likely linked to many more diseases — and deaths — than we thought.
At least five diseases have been added to the list.
“We think that associations with infectious diseases, hypertensive heart disease, rare respiratory conditions other than COPD, bowel ischemia, and renal failure are likely caused by smoking,” says the study’s lead author, Brian Carter.
Carter says those diseases are responsible for killing 60,000 people every year. He adds this highlights the need for anyone who does smoke to stop.
“I don’t think that can be overstated. Smoking is incredibly bad for one’s health. This certainly doesn’t change that message but it underscores it, for sure.”
The research was done by the American Cancer Society; it followed a million smokers for a decade. The habit has been linked to more than 20 diseases, five of which are types of cancer.
The rate of early death for smokers is two to three times higher than it is for those who don’t smoke.