If you’re smart and driven, you’ll quit smoking

As you know, when it comes to smoking, the evidence is clear and compelling.  You should not smoke. You’re better off doing almost anything else.  Smoking hurts just about every organ in your body.  And, smoking kills. Smoking also causes heart disease, blood disease, strokes and cataracts.

What you may not know is that smoking is the principal cause of lung cancer deaths, responsible for almost 9 out of 10 deaths from lung cancer. And, more people die of lung cancer than any other type of cancer.  In 2011, almost 157,000 people in the United States died of lung cancer, according to the Centers for Disease Control.  Lung cancer is responsible for about 27 percent of all cancer deaths, which is more than breast, colon and prostate cancer deaths combined. Of note, two out of three people with lung cancer are over 65.