s have focused on lung cancer, particularly cancer in women: "A great many women began to smoke at the end of World War II. Not surprisingly, 25 years later, in the 1970's, the rate of lung cancer among women began to increase rapidly" (Facts on File, 1994, 242). Men had shown an increased incidence of lung cancer by the 1940s, continuing a trend started during the 1920s, in the aftermath of World War I (Facts on File, 1994, p. 242): "Given the 25 years or so that it takes for cancer of the lung to develop, it is not unreasonable to blame cigarettes for that dramatic rise" (Facts on File, 1994, p. 242). In spite of these ominous indications, the Surgeon General of the United States did not put the first warnings about the dangers of smoking on packages of cigarettes until the 1970s; not until February 1982 did the General's report explicitly state that "smoking is linked directly to cancers of the lung, throat, larynx, oral cavity (mouth, tongue, and lips), and indirectly to cancers of the bladder, kidney, and pancreas" (Facts on File, 1994, p. 243). The report also stated that smoking may contribute to cancers of the stomach and uterus (Facts on File, 1994, p. 243).
Using comparison studies, medical researchers have been able to determine that men who smoke are twice as likely to die of one type of cancer or another as nonsmoking men, and women who smoke are at least 10 times as likely to develop lung cancer as nonsmoking women (Facts on File, 1994, p. 242). Women who smoke are likelier than nonsmoking women to deliver a child stillborn (Facts on File, 1994, p. 244). Other comparative studies show that people who smoke more than one pack of cigarettes a day are at least 10 to 15 times as likely to die of lung cancer as nonsmokers, and people who smoke more than two packs a day are at least 15 to 20 times as likely to die of lung cancer as nonsmokers (Facts on File, 1994, p. 243).
Animal studies demonstrate that, when ...