The Health Consequences of
Smoking-50 Years of Progress: A Report of the Surgeon General was
released on Jan. 17, a half century after the historic 1964 Surgeon General's
report that concluded that cigarette smoking causes lung cancer. Since that
time, smoking has been identified as a cause of serious diseases of nearly all
the body's organs.
Today, scientists add diabetes,
colorectal and liver cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, erectile dysfunction,
age-related macular degeneration, and other conditions to the list of diseases
that cigarette smoking causes. In addition, the report concludes that
secondhand smoke exposure is now known to cause strokes in nonsmokers.
For the full report, executive
summary, consumer guide and PSA, visit http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/reports/50-years-of-progress/index.html.
