Malignant tumors are cancer. Cells in malignant tumors are abnormal and divide without control or order. These cancer cells can invade and destroy the tissue around them. This process, called metastasis, is how cancer spreads from the original tumor to form new tumors in other parts of the body. Cigarette smoking is the most significant cause of lung cancer and the leading cause of lung cancer death in both men and women.
Smoking is also responsible for most cancers of the larynx, oral cavity, and esophagus.
In addition, it is highly associated with the development of and deaths from bladder, kidney, pancreatic, and cervical cancers. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Office on Smoking and Health has information about the risks associated with tobacco use and resources for smoking cessation programs. More information about the risks of using tobacco and how to find resources to help quit can also be found in the Cigarette Smoking as a Cause of Cancer section of the National Cancer Institute publication Cancer Rates and Risks , and in the Cancer Facts fact sheets Questions and Answers About Cigarette Smoking and Cancer and Questions and Answers About the Benefits of Smoking Cessation. The EPA report estimates that ETS is responsible for lung cancers in several thousand nonsmokers each year, and ETS exposure is also linked to severe respiratory problems in infants and young children. More information about ETS is available in the Cancer Facts fact sheet Questions and Answers About Cigarette Smoking and Cancer and in the Cigarette Smoking as a Cause of Cancer section of the National Cancer Institute publication Cancer Rates and Risks.