What Increases Your Risk A risk factor for lung cancer is
something that increases your chance of getting this cancer.
Having one or more of these risk factors can make it more likely
that you will get lung cancer. But it doesn't mean that you will
definitely get it. And many people who get lung cancer don't
have any of these risk factors. About 85 out of 100 lung cancers
are related to cigarette smoking.Reference 4 Smoking cigars or a
pipe may also increase your risk for lung cancer. Your risk of
getting lung cancer increases: - The longer you smoke. - The
more cigarettes you smoke each day. Quitting smoking lowers your
risk for getting cancer, and your risk keeps going down as long
as you don't smoke. Even cutting down how much you smoke may
reduce your risk (but not as much as quitting completely). If
you live with a smoker, you have a higher risk for lung cancer
compared with a person who lives in a nonsmoking environment.
For more information, see the topic Reference Quitting Smoking.
Exposure to some su