Understanding the Risks of Smoking and Cancer
- “Oppenheimer” actor Cillian Murphy, 47, says he’s done smoking on-screen after portraying several characters who possessed the cancer-causing habit. His change in mindset comes amid health concerns; even fake cigarettes contain warning labels.
- Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths for men and women in the U.S. Although nonsmokers still get lung cancer, cigarettes are the number one risk factor for the disease.
- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says cigarette smoking is linked to about 80 to 90 percent of lung cancer deaths.
- Many cancer patients who smoke cannabis say it helps alleviate side effects. The connection between obsessive cannabis usage and lung cancer still needs more research, according to some experts, to say definitively if marijuana leads to cancer.
- Nicotine replacement therapy is one of the main tools that smokers have at their disposal. Long-acting therapies like nicotine patches can be paired with short-acting therapies (including nicotine gum, lozenges, nasal spray, and inhalers) to cope with intense cravings.
“Oppenheimer” actor Cillian Murphy, 47, says he’s puffed on roughly a thousand fake cigarettes in his prior acting roles that couldn’t shake the cancer-causing habit. However, while growing increasingly concerned about his health, the Irish actor says he will refuse roles requiring him to smoke going forward.
Murphy has starred in several successful films, including “28 Days Later,” “Inception,” and, last year, “Oppenheimer.” He’s racked up several awards throughout his career, including roles like Tommy Shelby in “Peaky Blinders,” who was often seen smoking cigarettes. While the cigarettes used for the production were fake, Murphy still found them problematic.
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Smoking (real) cigarettes does pose cancer risks, such as lung cancer. However, some SurvivorNet experts believe smoking cannabis also poses cancer risks despite its ability to help alleviate cancer side effects.
Helping Patients Understand Smoking Risks
- 95% of Smokers Take Up the Habit Before Age 21: Why New York Just Joined A Growing List of States that Have Raised the Legal Smoking Age
- Cigarette Sales Increase for the First Time in 20 Years On the Heels Of Lung Cancer Awareness Month; Understand the Risk of Smoking
- Do You Need Some Motivation To Quit Smoking? Smokers Who Quit By 45 Reduce Their Excess Lung Cancer Risk by 87%, Research Shows
- Does Smoking Marijuana Cause Lung Cancer?
- Does Smoking Marijuana Cause Lung Cancer? Top Experts Tell SurvivorNet a Public Health Crisis is Coming
Smoking Is a Risk Factor for Lung Cancer
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths for men and women in the United States. Nonsmokers still get lung cancer, but cigarette smoking is the number one risk factor for the disease. Tobacco smoke contains a mixture of more than 7,000 different chemicals, at least 70 of which are known to cause cancer, the CDC says.
The CDC says cigarette smoking is linked to about 80 to 90 percent of lung cancer deaths, and people who smoke cigarettes are 15 to 30 times more likely to get lung cancer or die from lung cancer than people who don’t smoke. Additionally, second-hand smoke can cause lung cancer.
Smoking is, of course, the primary cause of lung cancer, but nonsmokers can and do develop this disease. Researchers have made progress in understanding the differences between lung cancer in smokers versus nonsmokers, says Dr. Ronald Natale, a medical oncologist at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, and they’re developing targeted treatments that will be able to address the genetic drivers of lung cancer in nonsmokers.
“Among patients who are nonsmokers, or former very light smokers, we identify a mutation that we can target with pills in about 60% to 70% of them. That leaves 30% or so, 40%, in whom we either have a target for which we do not have successful treatment,” Dr. Ronald Natale, a medical oncologist at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, tells SurvivorNet.
“Among patients who are smokers, who have more complex cancers that have hundreds, sometimes thousands of mutations, don’t have a driver mutation that we can give a pill for, which is only a tiny percentage of lifelong smokers. Chemotherapy is the primary treatment in most patients,” Dr. Natale explains further.
Understanding Lung Cancer
Lung cancer forms when cancer cells develop in the tissues of the lung. It is the second most common form of cancer and the leading cause of cancer deaths in both men and women in the U.S., SurvivorNet experts say. It’s “completely asymptomatic,” says thoracic surgeon-in-chief at Temple University Health System Dr. Joseph Friedberg.
“It causes no issues until it has spread somewhere. So, if it spreads to the bones, it may cause pain. If it spreads to the brain, it may cause something not subtle, like a seizure,” Dr. Friedberg adds.
WATCH: Detecting lung cancer in the absence of symptoms.
Scans such as X-rays can help doctors determine if a shadow appears, which can prompt further testing for lung cancer.
Lung cancer often doesn’t cause symptoms until it has already spread outside the lungs, according to SurvivorNet’s experts.
There are two main types of lung cancer, which doctors group together based on how they act and how they’re treated:
- Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is the most common type and makes up about 85% of cases.
- Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) is less common, but it tends to grow faster than NSCLC and is treated very differently.
If you quit smoking, you can significantly reduce your risk of developing the disease and dying from it.
Treatment options for lung cancer depend on its type, location, and staging. In general, treatment methods include surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, targeted therapy, or a combination of any of these treatments.
Does Cannabis Influence Cancer Risk?
A new study published in Nature Genetics focused on cannabis use disorder, which is akin to addiction. It evaluated more than a million people of various ethnic backgrounds to understand its impacts better. The genome-wide association study examined cannabis use disorder at a genetic level.
While the new study “raises important concerns regarding the potential adverse consequences of the secular trend toward increased cannabis use consequent to legalization,” according to its authors, it is important to remember that many people use marijuana casually — and many do not smoke it.
Chronic pain is cited as a reason for cannabis users to evolve their habit into more of an addiction. Researchers in the study say cannabis use disorder “showed a unidirectional effect on lung cancer.”
The connection between obsessive cannabis usage and lung cancer remains fuzzy at best and needs more research, authors of the study say. However, the study suggests cannabis use by people who also regularly smoked cigarettes had a negligible effect on their overall cancer risk due to the risk cigarettes already pose.
Dr. Raja Flores, who is the Chairman of the Department of Thoracic Surgery for Mount Sinai Health System, is among those who believe cannabis fuels cancer risks. “Smoking marijuana likely causes lung cancer independent of cigarette smoking status,” Dr. Flores told SurvivorNet.
“I do think for cigarettes, there is a genetic predisposition to get lung cancer. As well as a genetic predisposition for substance abuse. So, it would not surprise me that there is a genetic link to lung cancer from smoking weed,” Dr. Flores continued.
Tips to Quit
If you are a smoker but want to quit, here are some helpful tips to curb the habit.
- Nicotine replacement therapy is one of the main tools that smokers have at their disposal. Long-acting therapies like nicotine patches can be paired with short-acting therapies (including nicotine gum, lozenges, nasal spray, and inhalers) to cope with intense cravings.
- Avoid your triggers to smoke. Cravings can be provoked by situations in which you are used to having tobacco. It can help you familiarize yourself with these environments and make plans for how you can manage them without smoking or how you can avoid them altogether.
- Chew something. Whether it’s gum, candy, or vegetables, chew something that will occupy your mouth as you resist your cravings.
- Smoking once leads to smoking again, so be mindful of the “just one more” mentality that may go unnoticed.
- Boosting your physical activity with exercise can distract you from tobacco cravings and make them less intense.
- Finding new ways of dealing with stress can be an important part of quitting smoking. These activities may include deep breathing, yoga, visualization, muscle relaxation, and massage.
- Find support groups where groups of smokers are trying to quit together. These groups may be in-person or virtual.
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