Cigarette smoking and tobacco use result in significantly more deaths each year than illegal drugs and AIDS. Smoking damages nearly every organ in the human body, is linked to at least 15 different cancers, and accounts for some 30% of all cancer deaths. And it costs billions of dollars each year in health-related expenses. Yet one in five Americans still lights up.

In 1982, the United States Surgeon General’s Report stated, “Cigarette smoking is the major single cause of cancer mortality in the United States.” This statement is as true today as it was in 1982. Smoking is responsible for nearly 1 in 5 deaths in the United States. Because cigarette smoking and tobacco use are acquired behaviors, activities that people choose to do, it is the most preventable cause of premature death in our society.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 44.5 million U.S. adults were current smokers in 2006 (the most recent year for which numbers are available). This number represents 20.8% of all adults (23.9% of men and 18.0% of women), or more than 1 out of 5 people.

Below are tips to quit smoking from Everydaychoices.Org, a collaboration between American Cancer Society, American Diabetes Association and American Heart Association.

Tips to Help You Quit

About 48 million Americans smoke cigarettes, but most smokers are either actively trying to quit or want to quit. Since 1965, more than 40 percent of all adults who have ever smoked have quit. You can be among that group too. Here are some helpful hints to get you started.

* List all the reasons you want to quit smoking (e.g., better health, save money, play with children/grandchildren) and read them several times a day.
* Ask your physician or pharmacist if you are a good candidate for using a nicotine replacement (e.g., patch, gum, lozenge) or other medication to help you quit. Consider smoking cessation counseling or support groups.
* Choose a quit date – it could be a significant date (e.g., a birthday or anniversary) or just a date about two to three weeks away. Before your quit date, get rid of all smoking-related materials in your home and work area (e.g., ashtrays, matches, cigarette packages).
* Stay busy! Go to the movies, exercise, take long walks, go bike riding.
* Find healthy substitutes for smoking. Carry sugarless gum or artificially sweetened mints. Munch carrots or celery sticks. Try doing crafts or other things with your hands.
* Let your friends, family, and co-workers know that you plan to quit – and ask for their help and support. And if your spouse or partner smokes, ask them to help you out by not smoking around you for the first couple of months after you quit.

If you slip up, don’t punish or blame yourself – simply try again and ask for help.

Does smoking cigarettes mean getting lung cancer? Just ask John Wayne. What a contrast between these two videos from one of the greatest actors who ever lived (and who did over 200 movies). The first video was shot in 1952 as an ad for promoting “good-tasting” Camel cigarettes, and the second was 20 years later, when he did a public service announcement for the American Cancer Society about his lung cancer. Watch these short clips and continue reading below.

According to various sources, John Wayne was a six pack a day chain smoker starting as a young adult. As he stated in the Camel ad: “I have been smoking for 20 years” and that Camel cigarettes were: “cool, mild, and good-tasting”.

Sure enough, in 1964 he had his entire left lung removed because of “a baseball size cancer”. Fortunately for the Wayne family, and for his fans worldwide, his surgeon did a great operation and he had a successful outcome. John Wayne beat lung cancer in 1964; however he died 15 years later after a struggle with cancer of the stomach. During this difficult period, he became passionate about helping others fight this terrible disease.

To honor his memory, the Wayne Family created the John Wayne Cancer Foundation (JWCF). Their mission is to bring courage, strength and grit to the fight against cancer. The JWCF funded the John Wayne Cancer Institute in Santa Monica california, under the direction of Dr Donald Morton one of the premier surgeons in the world.

John Wayne was “True Grit”. What is grit? As described on the JWCF website, “Grit is bravery. A fighting spirit. Guts. Determination. It’s standing up for what you believe in and taking care of the people you love. John Wayne put it best when he said, “courage is being scared to death but saddling up anyway.”

John Wayne’s legacy lives on, his cancer crusade is finally taking hold, and his story about smoking and lung cancer from decades ago is still timely and relevant today!

On a related note, see Peter Jenning’s last broadcast before his death from lung cancer.

For more information about lung cancer, go to our companion website.  For more information about the John Wayne Foundation, go to http://www.jwcf.org, and for more information about the John Wayne Cancer Institute, go to http://www.jwci.org

This video discusses the link between vitamin D deficiency and cancer. It is an informative interview with Cedric Garland from Moores Cancer Center and Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, University of California at San Diego. The particular focus in this video is about cancer prevention and screening.

See my other blog which includes a very thorough video about vitamin D deficiency being more prevalent in women with breast cancer:

“What Does Vitamin D Have To Do with the Breast Cancer Risk?”