Cancer

            
             "Chemicals in tobacco smoke are a lethal cocktail; there.
             are six hundred poisons in every cigarette," quoted the CBC.
             news. According to information recently released by the.
             British government, cigarettes contain: paint stripper,.
             toilet cleaner, lighter fuel, a chemical in moth balls, a.
             poison in gas chambers, a rocket fuel, and many other.
             deadly poisons. As a result of these carcinogens in.
             cigarettes, lung cancer remains the leading cause of death.
             for both genders.
             Smoking is responsible for about one-third of potential.
             years of life lost due to cancer. Almost one-third of the.
             cancer deaths in men and almost one-quarter in women are.
             due to lung cancer alone (www.canadian-health-network.ca).
             In addition, heavy smokers face a twenty percent higher.
             risk of premature death compared with non-smokers.
             (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health). A study was done in.
             Finland, which covered more than one thousand men. The men.
             were all aged at least forty when the program was launched.
             The death rate among the continuous smokers during a.
             period of twenty years was one-fifth higher than the people.
             who never smoked (http://cbc.ca). It is obvious that with.
             such a high risk of death rate in smokers, that the.
             premature death was clearly linked to lung function.
             The BBC news reported that the female sex hormone estrogen.
             may be to blame for putting women at greater risk of lung.
             cancer. Dr. Siegfried from the University of Pittsburgh,.
             found that out of people who smoke the same amount, women.
             may be up to twice as likely to develop lung cancer as men.
             For this reason, she thinks that the effects of tobacco on.
             women have a lot to do with their higher levels of.
             estrogen. Two studies were done, one women who underwent.
             menopause late in life, and another who had short menstrual.
             cycles. It was found that they had a greater risk of lung.
             cancer. In both cases their estrogen levels were higher.
             than average. Dr. Stiegfried believes that the amount of.
             sex hormones may influence the effects of the carcinogens.