New Surgeon General's Report Expands List of Diseases Caused by
Smoking
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U.S. Surgeon
General Richard H. Carmona today released a new comprehensive report
on smoking and health, revealing for the first time that smoking
causes diseases in nearly every organ of the body. Published 40
years after the surgeon general's first report on smoking -- which
concluded that smoking was a definite cause of three serious
diseases -- this newest report finds that cigarette smoking is
conclusively linked to diseases such as leukemia, cataracts,
pneumonia and cancers of the cervix, kidney, pancreas and stomach.
"We've known for
decades that smoking is bad for your health, but this report shows
that it's even worse than we knew," Dr. Carmona said. "The toxins
from cigarette smoke go everywhere the blood flows. I'm hoping this
new information will help motivate people to quit smoking and
convince young people not to start in the first place."
According to the
report, smoking kills an estimated 440,000 Americans each year. On
average, men who smoke cut their lives short by 13.2 years, and
female smokers lose 14.5 years. The economic toll exceeds $157
billion each year in the United States -- $75 billion in direct
medical costs and $82 billion in lost productivity.
"We need to cut
smoking in this country and around the world," HHS Secretary Tommy
G. Thompson said. "Smoking is the leading preventable cause of death
and disease, costing us too many lives, too many dollars and too
many tears. If we are going to be serious about improving health and
preventing disease we must continue to drive down tobacco use. And
we must prevent our youth from taking up this dangerous habit."
In 1964, the
Surgeon General’s report announced medical research showing that
smoking was a definite cause of cancers of the lung and larynx
(voice box) in men and chronic bronchitis in both men and women.
Later reports concluded that smoking causes a number of other
diseases such as cancers of the bladder, esophagus, mouth and
throat; cardiovascular diseases; and reproductive effects. Today’s
new report, The Health Consequences of Smoking: A Report of the
Surgeon General, expands the list of illness and conditions linked
to smoking. The new illnesses and diseases are cataracts, pneumonia,
acute myeloid leukemia, abdominal aortic aneurysm, stomach cancer,
pancreatic cancer, cervical cancer, kidney cancer and periodontitis.
Statistics indicate
that more than 12 million Americans have died from smoking since the
1964 report of the surgeon general, and another 25 million Americans
alive today will most likely die of a smoking-related illness.
The report's
release comes in advance of World No Tobacco Day, an annual
event on May 31 that focuses global attention on the health hazards
of tobacco use. The goals of World No Tobacco Day are to
raise awareness about the dangers of tobacco use, encourage people
not to use tobacco, motivate users to quit and encourage countries
to implement comprehensive tobacco control programs.
The report
concludes that smoking reduces the overall health of smokers,
contributing to such conditions as hip fractures, complications from
diabetes, increased wound infections following surgery, and a wide
range of reproductive complications. For every premature death
caused each year by smoking, there are at least 20 smokers living
with a serious smoking-related illness.
Another major
conclusion, consistent with recent findings of other scientific
studies, is that smoking so-called low-tar or low-nicotine
cigarettes does not offer a heath benefit over smoking regular or
"full-flavor" cigarettes.
"There is no safe
cigarette, whether it is called 'light,' ultra-light,' or any other
name," Dr. Carmona said. "The science is clear: the only way to
avoid the health hazards of smoking is to quit completely or to
never start smoking."
The report
concludes that quitting smoking has immediate and long-term
benefits, reducing risks for diseases caused by smoking and
improving health in general. "Within minutes and hours after smokers
inhale that last cigarette, their bodies begin a series of changes
that continue for years," Dr. Carmona said. "Among these health
improvements are a drop in heart rate, improved circulation, and
reduced risk of heart attack, lung cancer and stroke. By quitting
smoking today a smoker can assure a healthier tomorrow."
Dr. Carmona said it
is never too late to stop smoking. Quitting smoking at age 65 or
older reduces by nearly 50 percent a person's risk of dying of a
smoking-related disease.
In addition to the
960-page printed report, The Health Consequences of Smoking,
the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released a new
interactive scientific database of more than 1,600 key articles
cited in the report, available through the Internet (www.surgeongeneral.gov).
The database can be used to find detailed information on the
specific health effects of smoking as well as to develop customized
analyses, tables and figures.
The database will
be continually updated as new critical studies are published,
allowing the surgeon general to determine on a regular basis whether
the evidence supports a new definitive conclusion about
smoking-caused disease. "Using this technology, once a threshold of
danger is met, we can quickly alert the American people of new
information related to smoking," Dr. Carmona said.
The report found
that for a number of diseases and conditions associated with
smoking, the evidence is not yet conclusive to establish a causal
link. For these illnesses, which include colorectal cancer, liver
cancer, prostate cancer, and erectile dysfunction in men, additional
studies are needed to reach the threshold of evidence required by
the Surgeon General's strict causal criteria to declare that they
are causally related to smoking. These criteria were introduced in
the 1964 report and have been updated in the 2004 report using new
uniform standards.
For breast cancer,
the evidence suggests that there is no causal relationship overall
to smoking. However, the report notes that on a genetic basis, some
women may be at increased risk if they smoke. More research is
required to clarify the role of smoking in the cause and progression
of breast cancer.
To help communicate
the report findings as widely as possible, Surgeon General Carmona
also unveiled a new animated Web site for the public showing the
hazards of smoking and the benefits of quitting (www.surgeongeneral.gov).
In addition, a full-color, easy-to-read summary of the report has
been developed for the public.
"The Web site and
public summary of the smoking report are something that I am really
proud of," Dr. Carmona said. "By preparing materials that people who
don't have a medical degree can understand we effectively bring the
science to people in a way they can use. Improving the health
literacy of Americans by closing the gap between what health
professionals know and the public understands will have a lasting
positive health impact."
Copies of the full The Health Consequences of
Smoking: A Report of the Surgeon General and related materials
are available from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
Office on Smoking and Health, 1-800-CDC-1311,
www.cdc.gov/tobacco
and on the surgeon general's Web site at
www.surgeongeneral.gov.
###
Note: All HHS press releases, fact sheets and
other press materials are available at
http://www.hhs.gov/news.
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Thursday, May 27, 2004, Contact: HHS Press Office, (202) 690-6343
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