From the National Cancer Institute:
Tobacco use, particularly cigarette smoking, is the single most preventable cause of death in the United States.
Cigarette smoking alone is directly responsible for approximately 30 percent of all cancer deaths annually in the United States .
Cigarette smoking also causes chronic lung disease (emphysema and chronic bronchitis), cardiovascular disease, stroke, and cataracts.
Smoking during pregnancy can cause stillbirth, low birthweight, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), and other serious pregnancy complications .
Quitting smoking greatly reduces a person’s risk of developing the diseases mentioned, and can limit adverse health effects on the developing child.
In 1996, a study was published that provided the clear molecular evidence conclusively linking components in tobacco smoke to lung cancer.*
Benzo[a]pyrene, found in tobacco smoke, was shown to cause genetic damage in lung cells that was identical to the damage observed in the DNA of most malignant lung tumors.
Chronology from the American Cancer Society website:
May 1994 - Documents reveal that tobacco executives at Brown & Williamson knew about the risks of smoking before the Surgeon General's Report was published 30 years ago. Mississippi files the first of 22 state lawsuits seeking to recoup millions of dollars from tobacco companies for smokers' health care costs.
November 1995 - A former top scientist at Brown & Williamson, Dr. Jeffrey Wigand, reveals tobacco industry secrets to Mississippi attorneys and to CBS's 60 Minutes.
June 20, 1997 - Tobacco companies and state attorneys general announce a landmark settlement that, among other things, calls for tobacco companies to pay $368 billion over 25 years.
July 3, 1997 - The first state lawsuit settlement comes, between Mississippi and the tobacco companies - a $3.6 billion deal.
August 25, 1997 - Florida reaches a reported $11.3 billion settlement with the tobacco companies.
January 16, 1998 - Texas becomes the third state to settle a lawsuit with the tobacco companies, for $15.3 billion.
April 6, 1998 - The landmark settlement is revised in a congressional committee and the cost to tobacco companies rises to $516 billion.
*Denissenko MF, Pao A, Tang M, Pfeifer GP. Preferential formation of benzo[a]pyrene adducts at lung cancer mutational hotspots in P53. Science. 1996 October 18;274(5286):430-2.
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