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What Increases Your Risk
Risk factors for lung cancer include:
- Tobacco use. Smoking and chewing tobacco are related to developing lung cancer, as well as to cancer of the mouth and throat. Over 85% of lung cancers are related to smoking. 2 More than half of people who are newly diagnosed with lung cancer are former smokers. Smoking unfiltered, high-tar cigarettes may put you at a higher risk than smoking filtered or low-tar cigarettes, although this has not been proven. The risk of developing lung cancer increases:
- The longer you smoke.
- The more cigarettes you smoke each day.
- Exposure to tobacco smoke, such as living with a smoker. If you live with a smoker, you have 2 to 3 times the risk of developing lung cancer compared with a person who lives in a nonsmoking environment. 5 About 25% of nonsmokers who develop lung cancer probably get it from being exposed to secondhand smoke. 3
- Exposure to certain chemicals, such as arsenic, asbestos, radioactive dust, or radon.
- Radiation exposure from occupational, medical, or environmental sources.
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| Last updated: | June 12, 2006 |
|---|---|
| Author: | Shannon Erstad, MBA/MPH |
| Reviewed By: | Caroline S. Rhoads, MD - Internal Medicine, Michael Seth Rabin, MD - Medical Oncology |
| Editors: | Kathleen M. Ariss, MS, Pat Truman |
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