Two significant lifestyles in today’s society are none other than smoking and alcohol. Constant ads on how smoking kills and alcohol is bad for health stop only a few in a million. The mechanism of our body is interrelated to every little bone and flesh. The risk of cancer, a disease which is often synonymous to the conservative population as death, is also an inevitable factor when people take to smoking and alcohol. This report shall encompass these two deadly factors and how they are the leading cancer cause.
Smoking: A Deadly Habit and Its Link to Cancer
Smoking is a process of burning tobacco and ingesting the resultant smoke. Some do it to look cool and others to deal with a certain circumstance. A cigarette has become not only a deadly weapon to the ones who walk by a smoking person but also to the smoker himself. Some might say reading this report, yes, we know smoking is bad, but how is it related to cancer? Well, the poison in cigarette smoke can weaken the body’s immune system, which in turn makes it significantly harder for the body to kill cancer cells. Thus, Cancer cells will keep growing and the immune system won’t be able to put a good fight.
Secondly, poison in tobacco smoke can damage or change the cell’s DNA.
DNA is a vital component of the cell as it controls the cell's growth and
function. A damage or change in the DNA could lead to growth out of control and
in the end create a cancer tumour. Moreover, the harmful substances in tobacco
smoke, including over 70 known carcinogens (def.
A substance capable of causing cancer in a living tissue), contribute to
the development of cancer in multiple organs of the body. Hence, the next time
someone hands you a cigarette consider the fact that 85% of cancer cases are
because of the cigarettes they hold.
Alcohol: The Hidden Risk Factor
Now, that we have covered one of the components in the infamous duo,
let’s move on to the driving force of many people, alcohol. ‘Drinking away your
problems’ is a common phrase used normally amongst people, initiating alcohol
as a coping mechanism. What is it that
alcohol does that causes such a phrase to exist?
Well, alcohol is known to reduce physical and psychological pain. Thus
people use it as a frequent remedy for depression and mental health issues.
The Complex Relationship Between Alcohol and Cancer
Yet, talking about the connection between alcohol and cancer is quite complex as the biological sciences behind it, are intricate for novices. As the Canadian Cancer Society says, “Drinking about 3.5 drinks a day doubles or even triples the risk of developing cancer of the mouth, pharynx, larynx, and oesophagus.” This proves the fact that whatever the occasion might be, a drinker of alcohol remains at a greater risk of cancer.
Let’s take a reference to a report by the WHO on 7th March 2024 about the link between alcohol and breast cancer. This report offers a statistic about how 21% of the women were unaware of the link between cancer and alcohol, and even less in men, just 10%. This is a shocking and saddening revelation as the report has been published this year, and despite the efforts to bring Breast Cancer to the spotlight, we still haven’t made quite the change we ought to bring.
The Cost of a Deadly Lifestyle
As cases increase all around the world, be it breast cancer or any type of cancer, cancer still exists destroying the lives of thousands. When we open a cigarette to light when life gets hard, or drink alcohol regularly as part of the social lifestyle of today, we bring more harm to ourselves than we could ever imagine.
Reference list
American Cancer Society (1913). American Cancer Society. [online] Cancer.org. Available at: https://www.cancer.org/.
CDCTobaccoFree (2022). Smoking and Cancer. [online] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/campaign/tips/diseases/cancer.html#:~:text=Poisons%20in%20cigarette%20smoke%20can.
Collins, J. (2023). Why Do People Drink Alcohol? [online] Clear Behavioral Health. Available at: https://clearbehavioralhealth.com/why-do-people-drink-alcohol/#:~:text=For%20some%2C%20alcohol%20consumption%20can [Accessed 20 Sep. 2024].
National Cancer Institute (2021). Alcohol and Cancer Risk. [online] National Cancer Institute. Available at: https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/alcohol/alcohol-fact-sheet.
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