- Lung cancer is the number one cause of cancer death among Indian women
- Women’s death rates due to lung cancer have risen 600% since 1950
- About 90% of all lung cancer deaths are attributable to smoking
- Chewing tobacco and snuff contain 28 different carcinogens
- Smoking is a major cause of cancers of the oropharynx (base of the tongue) and bladder among women.
- Women who smoke have increased risks for cancers of the pancreas and kidney.
- Larynx and esophagus cancer rates are also elevated.
- Research shows that smokers infected with human papillomavirus have greater risk of developing invasive cervical cancer than nonsmokers with the virus.
- Indian women have cervical cancer rates 3.5 times the national average. Tobacco is one of the behavioral factors considered to elevate the risk of cervical cancer.