Smoking is reponsible for one in every five deaths in Britain. The Royal College of Physicians believes that nicotine is as addictive as heroin. More men than women are diagnosed with lung cancer, although the number of women is now increasing.
Smoking is the main culprit.
Small cell lung cancer is usually found in people who are or who have been smokers. The link between cigarette smoking and lung cancer was established over 40 years ago. It is thought that the inhalation of second hand smoke or environmental tobacco smoke may increase the risk of lung cancer. According to World Health Organisation estimates, there are currently 4 million deaths worldwide each year from tobacco, a figure expected to rise to about 10 million by the 2020s or early 2030s. By that date, based on current smoking trends, tobacco is predicted to be the leading cause of disease burden in the world, causing about one in eight deaths.