Causes of cancer
Cancer is a chronic disease. As with any other chronic diseases, cancer has a multifactorial etiology (cause). Carcinogens are the substances which can cause cancer to humans.
1. Environmental factors: Environmental factors are responsible for at least 90 per cent of all human cancers. The major environmental factors identified include the following:
a. Tobacco: Tobacco in various forms of usage (e.g. smoking, chewing, sniffing) is the major environmental cause of cancers of lungs, larynx, mouth, pharynx, esophagus, bladder, pancreas and also kidney. It has been estimated that cigarette smoking is responsible for more than one million premature deaths every year throughout the world in the form of cancer, respiratory problems and also in many other way. There is hardly any organ system which is not affected adversely due to cigarette smoking.
