What Causes It Cigarette smoking is the major factor in the development of both small cell and non-small cell lung cancers. The increase in cigarette smoking by men in the 1920s, apparently related to increased cigarette advertising about that time, was followed in the 1940s by a dramatic increase in the incidence of lung cancer in men. The marked increase in cigarette smoking by women in the 1940s, perhaps because it became more socially acceptable during the war, was unfortunately followed 20 years later by a similar increase in the incidence of lung cancer among women. It has been estimated that if all tobacco disappeared from the earth, 17 percent of all cancers would also disappear. The attempt to stop cigarette smoking remains one of the most crucial medical issues in our society.
Lung cancer predisposes a person to a higher risk of developing another lung cancer later.
