Smoking linked to even more health problems

Anti-tobacco advocates applauded the surgeon general's 2004 report but are worried about cuts in prevention and cessation programs.

By Victoria Stagg Elliott, AMNews staff. June 21, 2004.

Public health officials are hoping that the publication of the latest surgeon general's report on tobacco, the 24th since the landmark 1964 document that diagnosed smoking as unhealthy, will encourage even more smokers to attempt to quit.

The new report found that the health impact of tobacco use goes far beyond the lungs and the other organs traditionally considered at risk. The habit can also be linked to cataracts and reductions in fertility as well as cancers of the stomach, cervix and pancreas.

"Everyone knows how bad smoking is, but it's actually worse," said U.S. Surgeon General Richard H. Carmona, MD, MPH.

The report also found that smoking diminished overall health and that cigarettes with reduced tar or nicotine provided no benefit.

Longtime anti-tobacco crusaders applauded the report for gathering together disparate research into one authoritative document.

"It is a step forward in terms of raising awareness about how important tobacco is as a health hazard," said Mel Kohn, MD, MPH, state epidemiologist at the Oregon Dept. of Human Services.

Meanwhile, physicians hoped the expanded list of related health concerns would involve more specialists, such as ophthalmologists in the case of cataracts, in promoting smoking cessation.

The longer list could also appeal to patients' varying priorities. For instance, the possibility of cancer many years down the line may be less scary to some than the chance of reduced fertility right now.