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Article: Smoking Cessation
- Article from:
- Gale Encyclopedia of Cancer
- Author:
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Copyright informationCOPYRIGHT 2002 The Gale Group Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Smoking cessation
Definition
Smoking cessation is the medical term for quitting smoking. It is a vital part of
cancer prevention
because smoking is the single most preventable cause of death from cancer. As early as 1982, the Surgeon General reported that tobacco causes more cancer deaths in the United States than any other factor-30% of all cancer deaths, including 87% of deaths from lung cancer. Although people think of smoking most often in connection with lung cancer, smoking is also associated with cancers of the mouth, throat, voice box (larynx), esophagus, pancreas, kidney, and bladder. Women who smoke increase their risk of cancer of the cervix. Quitting smoking, however, ...