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List finds smoking worse than thought
(Agencies)
Updated: 2004-05-28 14:53
The list of diseases linked to smoking grew longer
Thursday. Add acute myeloid leukemia, cancers of the cervix, kidney, pancreas
and stomach, abdominal aortic aneurysms, cataracts, periodontitis and
pneumonia.
Customer Charles Burgess lights a cigarette as
he sits in a bar in downtown Toronto in this Feb. 11, 2003 file photo.
Giving the cold shoulder to smokers will take on a new meaning in the
frigid Canadian Arctic on June 1, 2004, when the government begins
enforcing laws that compel people to puff outside, even in subzero
temperatures. [AP Photo] |
"We've known for decades that
smoking is bad for your health, but this report shows that it's even worse,"
said Surgeon General Richard Carmona, announcing his first official assessment
of the effects of tobacco.
The report said current evidence is not conclusive enough to say smoking
causes colorectal cancer, liver cancer, prostate cancer or erectile disfunction.
Some research has associated those diseases with smoking, but Carmona said more
proof is needed.
The evidence suggests smoking may not cause breast cancer in women but
that some women, depending on genetics, may increase their risk of getting it by
smoking, the report said.
Diseases previously linked to smoking include cancer of the bladder,
esophagus, larynx, lung and mouth. Also tied to smoking was chronic lung
disease, chronic heart and cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, peptic ulcers
and reproductive problems.
About 440,000 Americans die of smoking-related diseases each year. The
report said more than 12 million people have died from smoking-related diseases
in the 40 years since the first surgeon general's report on smoking and health
was released in 1964.
That report linked smoking to lung and larynx cancer and chronic
bronchitis. Subsequent reports, such as the one released Thursday, have expanded
the list of diseases linked to smoking.
Carmona's report said treating smoking-related diseases costs the nation
US$75 billion annually. The loss of productivity from smoking is estimated to be
US$82 billion annually.
On average, the surgeon general said, smokers die 13 years to 14 years
before nonsmokers.
The number of adults who smoke has dropped from about 42 percent in 1965
to about 22 percent in 2002, the last year for which such data is available,
according to the surgeon general.
The government has set a goal of 12 percent by 2010, but is having
trouble getting the rate to come down as quickly as sought. The smoking rate is
declining by less than one-half of a percentage point annually.
Cheryl Healton, president of the anti-smoking American Legacy Foundation,
said officials have failed to act on recommendations made by a
government-appointed scientific panel last year. Among its proposals was raising
the federal tax on cigarettes from 39 cents per pack to US$2.39.
The Bush administration did agree with the proposal to establish a
national hot line to counsel smokers. That should be set up next year.
Matthew Myers, president of the Campaign for
Tobacco-free Kids, said the surgeon general's report demonstrates the need for
the Food and Drug Administration to regulate cigarettes. That has been proposed
in Congress.
Carmona said he was briefed on the legislation, which would set strict
rules for marketing and manufacturing cigarettes. While he stopped short of
endorsing the bill, he said it was "wonderful" that lawmakers were considering
it.
Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson has
said he thinks tobacco ought to be regulated.
When U.S. President Bush asked recently if he thinks more
regulation of the industry is needed, he reaffirmed his position that the
emphasis ought to be on preventing teenagers from smoking.
The administration recently signed a treaty that would
put new restrictions on cigarette manufactures worldwide. Public health
officials complain that the administration has not yet submitted the treaty to
the Senate for ratification.
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