Healthy Choices
Cessation Tips from Former Smokers
“We did it. You can, too!” Three former smokers share tips that helped them quit in this video. For more help quitting, visit smokefree.gov.
You can lower your risk of getting cancer by making healthy choices like–
- Avoiding tobacco.
- Protecting your skin.
- Limiting the amount of alcohol you drink.
- Keeping a healthy weight.
- Getting tested for hepatitis C.
Avoiding Tobacco
Cigarette Smoking
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death, and cigarette smoking causes almost all cases. Compared to nonsmokers, current smokers are about 25 times more likely to die from lung cancer. Smoking causes about 80% to 90% of lung cancer deaths. Smoking also causes cancer of the mouth and throat, esophagus, stomach, colon, rectum, liver, pancreas, voicebox (larynx), trachea, bronchus, kidney and renal pelvis, urinary bladder, and cervix, and causes acute myeloid leukemia.1 2
Visit smokefree.gov to learn how you can quit smoking.
Secondhand Smoke
Adults who are exposed to secondhand smoke at home or at work increase their risk of developing lung cancer by 20% to 30%. Concentrations of many cancer-causing and toxic chemicals are higher in secondhand smoke than in the smoke inhaled by smokers.3
Protecting Your Skin
Skin cancer is the most common kind of cancer in the United States. Exposure to ultraviolet (UV) rays from the sun and tanning beds appears to be the most important environmental factor involved with developing skin cancer. To help prevent skin cancer while still having fun outdoors, protect yourself by seeking shade, applying sunscreen, and wearing sun-protective clothing, a hat, and sunglasses.
Limiting Alcohol Intake
Studies around the world have shown that drinking alcohol regularly increases the risk of getting mouth, voice box, and throat cancers.
A large number of studies provide strong evidence that drinking alcohol is a risk factor for primary liver cancer, and more than 100 studies have found an increased risk of breast cancer with increasing alcohol intake. The link between alcohol consumption and colorectal (colon) cancer has been reported in more than 50 studies.4
Keeping a Healthy Weight
Research has shown that being overweight or having obesity raises a person’s risk of getting some cancers, including endometrial (uterine), breast in postmenopausal women, and colorectal cancers. Overweight is defined as a body mass index (BMI) of 25 to 29, and obesity is defined as a BMI of 30 or higher.5 Learn how to choose a healthy diet at Healthy Eating for a Healthy Weight, and read about exercise at Physical Activity for a Healthy Weight.
Getting Tested for Hepatitis C
Hepatitis is inflammation of the liver, which is most often caused by a virus. In the United States, the most common type of viral hepatitis is Hepatitis C. Over time, chronic Hepatitis C can lead to serious liver problems including liver damage, cirrhosis, liver failure, or liver cancer. CDC recommends that anyone who was born between 1945 and 1965 get tested for Hepatitis C.
References
1U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Health Consequences of Smoking—50 Years of Progress: A Report of the Surgeon General, 2014. [PDF-35.9MB]
2International Agency for Research on Cancer. IARC monographs on the evaluation of carcinogenic risks to humans: Volume 100E: Personal Habits and Indoor Combustions. Lyon, France: International Agency for Research on Cancer; 2012.
3U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Health Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke: A Report of the Surgeon General—6 Major Conclusions of the Surgeon General Report. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health, 2006.
CDC scientists and other experts explored ways to lower cancer risk at different ages: early childhood, adolescence, early adulthood, midlife, and older adulthood.
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