Matthew Tontonoz Friday, D. 7. (2018, December 07). How Do Cigarettes Cause Cancer? Retrieved from https://www.mskcc.org/news/how-do-cigarettes-cause-cancer


State University of New York at Stony Brook

Cigarettes contain tobacco. Tobacco contains over 70 carcinogens that damage one's DNA and increases cell division, hence leading to cancer.  These carcinogens also damage brain cells and the airway/lungs. 

Cancer Prevention | How Smoking Causes Lung Cancer

Pfeifer, G. P., Denissenko, M. F., Olivier, M., Tretyakova, N., Hecht, S. S., & Hainaut, P. (2002). Tobacco smoke carcinogens, DNA damage and p53 mutations in smoking-associated cancers. Oncogene, 21(48), 7435–7451. https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.onc.1205803

Tobacco Smoke Carcinogens Reference

 Hurley, S, Winnall, WR, Greenhalgh, EM & Winstanley, MH. 3.3 Smoking and cancer. In Greenhalgh, EM, Scollo, MM and Winstanley, MH [editors].  Tobacco in Australia: Facts and issues. Melbourne: Cancer Council Victoria; 2020. Available from  http://www.tobaccoinaustralia.org.au/chapter-3-health-effects/3-3-smoking-and-cancer

Smoking and Cancer 

Smoking and Cancer Reference

Carcinogens are any substance that will contribute to the formation of cancers. Carcinogens range from naturally occurring compounds to radioactive substances. Carcinogens consist of two categories: Genotoxic compounds and non-genotoxic compounds. 


What are carcinogens? 

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (US). “How Tobacco Smoke Causes Disease: The Biology and Behavioral Basis for Smoking-Attributable Disease.” National Center for Biotechnology Information, U.S. National Library of Medicine, 1 Jan. 1970, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK53017/.


Chemistry and Toxicology of Cigarette Smoke

Wong, T.-J., Li, Q., Dodd, V., Wang, W., Bian, J., & Guo, Y. (2021). Oral cancer knowledge and screening behavior among smokers and non-smokers in rural communities. BMC Cancer, 21(1), 430–430. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12885-021-08198-5

Oral and Pharyngeal Cancer Reference

Oral and Pharyngeal cancers (OPC) form in squamous cells, thin flat cells that line the inner lining of the oral cavity, pharynx, and larynx.  


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