At least one-third of all cancer cases are preventable.
Prevention offers the most cost-effective long-term strategy for
the control of cancer. Tobacco use is the single greatest
avoidable risk factor for cancer mortality worldwide, causing an
estimated 22% of cancer deaths per year. In 2004, 1.6 million of
the 7.4 million cancer deaths were due to tobacco use. Tobacco
smoking causes many types of cancer, including cancers of the
lung, esophagus, larynx (voice box), mouth, throat, kidney,
bladder, pancreas, stomach and cervix. About 70% of the lung
cancer burden can be attributed to smoking alone. Second-hand
smoke (SHS), also known as environmental tobacco smoke, has been
proven to cause lung cancer in nonsmoking adults. Smokeless
tobacco (also called oral tobacco, chewing tobacco or snuff)
causes oral, esophageal and pancreatic cancer. Physical
inactivity, dietary factors, obesity and being overweight
Dietary modification is another important approach to cancer
control. There is a link between overweight an