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Reducing Risk

There may be several ways to reduce the risk of developing lung cancer.

Don't Smoke
Tobacco use is the major cause of lung cancer in the United States. About 90% of lung cancer deaths in men and almost 80% of lung cancer deaths in women in this country are due to smoking. The most important thing a person can do to prevent lung cancer is to not start smoking, or to quit if he or she currently smokes.

Quitting smoking will lower risk of lung cancer compared to not quitting. This is true no matter how old one is or how much he or she smokes. The longer a person goes without smoking, the more his or her risk will improve compared to those who continue to smoke. However, the risk in people who have quit is still higher than the risk in people who have never smoked.

For more information, visit Quit Smoking on CDC's Smoking and Tobacco Use site. ^{1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6} Also, CDC helps support a national network of quitlines that makes free "quit smoking" support (www.smokefree.gov) available by telephone to smokers anywhere in the United States. The toll-free number is 1-800-QUITNOW (1-800-784-8669).

For smokers, avoiding other things that increase risk for lung cancer may help lower risk, but not as much as quitting smoking.

Avoid Secondhand Smoke
CDC's Office of Smoking and Health has information about secondhand smoke.

Make Your Home and Workplace Safer
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recommends that all homes be tested for radon. Radon detectors can be purchased or arrangements can be made for qualified testers to come into the home. Visit the EPA radon Web site for more information about radon and radon testing. ⁷

Health and safety guidelines in the workplace can help workers avoid things that can cause cancer (carcinogens.)

Eat Lots of Fruits and Vegetables
Eating a diet high in fruits and vegetables may help protect against lung cancer. For more information, visit Fruits & Veggies - More Matters.

References

1. International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). IARC Monographs on the Evaluation of Carcinogenic Risks to Humans and their Supplements: A complete list. Tobacco Smoking. Monograph Volume 38 (1986).
2. International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). IARC Monographs on the Evaluation of Carcinogenic Risks to Humans and their Supplements: A complete list. Tobacco Smoking and Tobacco Smoke Volume 83 (2002). (PDF 48 Kb)*
3. U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare. Smoking and Health: Report of the Advisory Committee to the Surgeon General of the Public Health Service (1964).
4. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Women and Smoking: A Report of the Surgeon General (2001).
5. Alberg AJ, Samet JM. Epidemiology of lung cancer.* Chest 2003;123:21S–49S.
6. Institute of Medicine (IOM) National Cancer Policy Board. Fulfilling the Potential of Cancer Prevention and Early Detection. Curry SJ, Byers T, Hewitt M (eds). National Academies Press. Washington, D.C., 2003.
7. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Indoor Air Quality: Radon.

Please note: Some of these publications are available for download only as *.pdf files. These files require Adobe Acrobat Reader in order to be viewed. Please review the information on downloading and using Acrobat Reader software.

*Links to non-Federal organizations found at this site are provided solely as a service to our users. These links do not constitute an endorsement of these organizations or their programs by CDC or the Federal Government, and none should be inferred. CDC is not responsible for the content of the individual organization Web pages found at these links.