There’s A New Biggest Cause Of Cancer In The UK

Cancer Research UK recently reported that the number of cancer cases caused by smoking in the UK has reached an all-time high of 160 cases every day.

This has increased by 17% since 2003, meaning that over 20 additional people a day are being diagnosed with cancer caused by smoking compared to 20 years ago.

It’s a frightening fact and what’s even more frightening is that tobacco is the largest cause of preventable cancer in the UK.

We are all in control of lowering our likelihood of smoking related cancer.

You might be wondering how exactly cigarettes cause cancer. The harmful chemicals in cigarettes damage our DNA, including the parts that protect against cancer and also make it harder for our cells to repair the DNA damage. The build-up of DNA damage in the same cell over time can lead to cancer.

Lung cancer still has the strongest link to smoking but the links to liver, throat and kidney cancer have all doubled in the last 20 years. This is also the first time Cancer Research UK has included breast cancer as a type of cancer caused by smoking, bringing the number of different types of cancer caused by tobacco to 16.

In light of this, charities such as Action on Smoking and Health, British Heart Foundation, Alzheimer’s Research UK and Stroke Association were just a few of the 1,400 charities, health leaders and organisations that urged the government to commit to the reintroduction of the Tobacco and Vapes Bill.

Due to the uniquely harmful impact of tobacco, the bill aims to create the first smoke-free generation as well as encourage smokers to cut back or give up all together, which is more commonly wanted than we think. 75% of smokers would never have started smoking if they had the chance to make that decision again.

We are not preaching or trying to scaremonger with this article but we do want you to be aware of the impact of tobacco and make fully informed decisions regarding smoking and lifestyle.

If you’re thinking about quitting smoking, want to cut down or want to quit entirely, stopsmokinglondon.com has some excellent free resources to help you no matter what stage you’re at.

Information and statistics from Cancer Research UK and Gov.uk.