Smoking and cancer risk

Most people know that smoking is the major cause of lung cancer. Up to 90 per cent of all lung cancers in men, and 65 per cent of lung cancers in women, are attributed to smoking. The risk of lung cancer increases with the length of time spent smoking and the number of cigarettes smoked.

But smoking tobacco doesn’t just increase the risk of lung cancer — there are 16 different cancers that can be caused by smoking tobacco.

Smoking rates have declined over the years with 8.6 per cent of South Australian adults smoking daily.

The prevalence of smoking is often higher among vulnerable communities. For this reason, smoking is an important social justice issue.