Is it true that smoking causes cancers other than lung cancer?

Smoking does indeed cause a large number of cancers outside the lung. A causal relationship has been established for cancers of the mouth and throat, the larynx, the nose and sinuses, the oesophagus, the stomach, the pancreas, the liver, the bile ducts, the colon, the kidneys, the ureters, the bladder, the cervix and the ovaries, as well as for leukaemia (a cancer of the blood). Up to 30% of all cancer deaths are attributed to tobacco smoking.

The risk of cervical cancer in current smokers is more than three times as high as in non-smokers. Both large observational studies and a genetic analysis support the conclusion that this is a causal relationship, not merely a coincidence or a side effect.

Breast cancer also occurs more frequently in women who smoke. Several large prospective studies show a consistently elevated risk: roughly 10 to 13% higher than in non-smokers. This is a relatively small increase, and whether it is entirely causal has not been established beyond doubt. With second-hand smoke (passive smoking), the elevated risk is smaller and the uncertainty is greater.

Smoking in combination with alcohol is particularly dangerous: the two risk factors reinforce each other, causing the cancer risk to multiply compared with smoking or drinking alone.

Quitting smoking demonstrably reduces the risk of all these cancers. The longer you have already been smoke-free, the greater the benefit. It is therefore never too late to quit, even if you have been smoking for many years.