| There are a various risk factors that are linked to lung | | | | Asbestos Exposure |
| cancer. The most common known causes are as | | | | Exposure to asbestos is another well-known cause of |
| follows: | | | | lung cancer and mesothelioma - cancer of the pleural |
| Cigarette Smoking | | | | lining of the lungs. Asbestos was widely used in |
| Cigarette smoking is probably the most closely related | | | | construction and everyday products in the late 1800s |
| link to developing lung cancer. A person who smokes | | | | through the 1960s. Asbestos separates into fine silica |
| two packs or more of cigarettes per day has a one in | | | | fibers that become trapped in the tissues of the lungs. |
| seven chance of developing lung cancer. Those that | | | | Mesothelioma is inextricably linked to asbestos |
| smoke one pack of cigarettes per day have a | | | | exposure. There are no reported cases of |
| twenty-five times greater chance of developing lung | | | | mesothelioma in people who were not exposed to |
| cancer than a non-smoker. In addition, those people | | | | asbestos either in the workplace or through their |
| that smoke a pipe or cigar have a five times greater | | | | environment. A non-smoker who was exposed to |
| chance of developing lung cancer than a non-smoker. | | | | asbestos has a five times greater risk of developing |
| The risk of developing lung cancer increases with the | | | | lung cancer than a non-smoker who was not exposed. |
| number of cigarettes smoked over your lifetime. | | | | Smoking increases the risk dramatically - a smoker |
| Cigarette smoking damages the cells in your lungs. The | | | | who was exposed to asbestos has a risk of |
| moment you stop smoking, your lungs begin healing | | | | developing lung cancer that is 50 to 90 times greater |
| themselves, replacing damaged cells with healthy, | | | | than that of a non-smoker. |
| normal cells. Your risk of developing lung cancer begins | | | | Radon Gas |
| decreasing almost immediately when you quit smoking. | | | | It is estimated that about 12% of lung cancer deaths |
| Every year that you do not smoke, your chances of | | | | can be attributed to radon gas, a colorless, odorless |
| developing lung cancer drop further. By the fifteenth | | | | gas that is a natural byproduct of the decay of |
| year, your chances of developing lung cancer are | | | | uranium. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency |
| about the same as those of a person who has never | | | | estimates that as many as 15% of homes in the United |
| smoked. | | | | States have unsafe levels of radon gas, which will |
| Secondhand Smoke | | | | account for 15,000 to 22,000 deaths from lung cancer |
| Also known as passive smoking, people exposed to | | | | annually. |
| secondhand smoke on a regular basis will have a | | | | Air Pollution |
| higher risk of developing lung cancer, even if they do | | | | Scientists estimate that as many as 1% of all lung |
| not smoke themselves. Studies have shown that | | | | cancer deaths are attributable to air pollution. They |
| those who live with a smoker have a 24% greater risk | | | | believe that prolonged exposure to very polluted air |
| of developing lung cancer than most non-smokers. | | | | can raise the risks of developing lung cancer to about |
| Doctors estimate that about 3000 lung cancer deaths | | | | the levels of a passive smoker. |
| a year are related to secondhand smoke. | | | | |