May 28, 2004 - Vancouver Sun
'Top U.S. doctor links smoking to more diseases'!

Washington - The list of diseases linked to smoking just got longer.

U.S. Surgeon General Richard Carmona released his first official assessment of smoking Thursday. His report
concluded that smoking causes a number of diseases not previously attributed to tobacco use.

They include: acute myeloid leukemia and cancers of the cervix, kidney, pancreas and stomach; abdominal aortic aneurysm, cataracts, periodontitis and pneumonia. The report said current evidence is not conclusive enough to say smoking causes colorectal cancer, liver cancer, prostate cancer or erectile dysfunction.

Smoking may not cause breast cancer in women overall, but some women may increase their risk of getting breast cancer by smoking, depending on genetics, the report said.

An estimated 45,000 Canadians die each year from smoking, and tobacco use is reponsible for one in five deaths
among Canadians overall, Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada says on its website.