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Editor: C. Calvin Warriner
Profession: Cigarette & Tobacco Attorney

Category: Lung Cancer

According to the American Cancer Society and the American Lung Association, lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths for men and women, and cigarette smoking or tobacco use is directly responsibly for more than 87% of lung cancer cases in the U.S. each year.

Lung cancer generally takes two main forms: non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and small cell lung cancer (SCLC). NSCLC is the most common and less aggressive form, occurring in about 75 to 80% of all cases.

After being breathed into the lungs for a period of time, the carcinogens (or toxins) found in cigarette smoke cause damage to the cells, which may become cancerous.

An article on quitsmoking.about.com details the risk factors for lung cancer in cigarette smokers.

The factors which appear to influence whether a person will develop lung cancer are:

age the person was when starting to smoke

how long the person has smoked

number of cigarettes smoked per day

how deeply the smoke is inhaled

Quitting smoking greatly reduces the chance of getting lung cancer.