Causes of Lung Cancer

What causes Lung Cancer?
Smoking is number one on the list of causes of lung cancer. Infact about 90% of lung cancers arise as a result of tobacco use. Lung cancer started it rise in the 1930’s when tobacco smoking become popular among young men and women. The risk of lung cancer in smokers is 10-20 times higher than those who have never smoked.

Cigarette Smoking and Lung Cancer
Cigarette smoking contains more than 4,000 different chemicals, 80 of which are known carcinogens and others increase the cancer-causing power of the carcinogen.

Secondhand smokers (those who do not smoke but inhale the smell) are also affected by many of these chemicals, which make secondhand smoke a cause of lung cancer

According to a report in 1993, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said secondhand smoking causes 3,000 lung cancer deaths among non smokers every year

When a person smokes, the burning tobacco (cigarette) containing high concentration of carcinogens circulates into the air and it is inhaled by the smokers and those around them.
Men who smoke are 22 times more at risk of developing lung cancer while women who smoke are 12 times more at risk.
The longer and more cigarettes a person smokes, the more at risk the person is and if the person quits smoking, the chances of developing lung cancer and other smoking related diseases such as heart disease, stroke, emphysema and chronic bronchitis reduce steadily each year because the abnormal cells will become replaced by normal cells. And as the person keeps to the new habit of no smoking, his risk decreases to a level of 30-50 percent of those who continue to smoke.

The risk of lung cancer at 5 years after quitting smoking is divided by half of what it used to be before quitting

Radon and Lung Cancer
Radon (air borne) is another cause of lung cancer. Radon is a problem that has been detected in every state in the US and EPA records shows that 1 of every 15 homes in US has a radon level that is at or above it recommended guideline of four picocuries per liter of air on a yearly average. Schools and workplaces are also at risk

Since radon is invisible and odorless people can not tell when they are being exposed to it except when it level is measured.
A smoker that is also been exposed to radon has a greater health risk generally.

Asbestos and Lung Cancer
Another common cause of cancer is an industrial substance known as Asbestos and it is the most common substance associated with lung cancer

Other Causes of Lung cancer
Other air borne carcinogens found in the office and at home are: Uranium, arsenic, and chromium. Continuous exposure of the lung tissues to carcinogens causes gene mutations that affect each cell’s ability to maintain normal growth and divisions. When numbers of cells affected increases the mutated cells keeps dividing beyond control and forms a tumor.

Other things that can increase a person’s risk are: certain forms of insulation, repairing brakes and certain environments, like an environment with a coke oven

When smoking is combine with carcinogens, the risk of developing lung cancer is very greatly increased.

These are the common known causes of lung cancer.

Lung cancer can also be caused by genetic predisposition.