What does the U.S. Surgeon General's new report on smoking say?

The U.S. Surgeon General's 2004 report, The Health Consequences of Smoking states for the first time that smoking causes diseases in nearly every organ of the body. Smoking is the top cause of preventable disease and kills an estimated 440,000 Americans each year, according to the report.

In 1964, the Surgeon General's first smoking and health report showed that smoking was a definite cause of cancers of the lung and larynx (voice box) in men and chronic bronchitis in both sexes. Later reports from the Surgeon General said that smoking also caused cardiovascular disease, reproductive problems, and cancers of the bladder, esophagus, mouth and throat.

The new report expands the list of smoking-related diseases to cancers of the stomach, pancreas, cervix and kidney, acute myeloid leukemia, cataracts, pneumonia, abdominal aortic aneurysm, and periodontitis.

The report also notes that smoking low-tar or low-nicotine cigarettes is not safer than smoking regular cigarettes. The only way to avoid the health hazards of smoking is to quit completely or never start.

For an easy-to-read summary of the report and other information on smoking, go to http://www.surgeongeneral.gov. For one-on-one help with quitting, contact the tobacco quitline in your state. If your state does not have a quitline, call the National Cancer Institute's Smoking Quitline toll-free at 1-877-44U-QUIT (1-877-448-7848) 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. For a list of quitlines and other information online, go to http://www.smokefree.gov.

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