Smoking causes at least 16 different types of cancer: lung, larynx, bladder, pharynx, oesophagus, liver, cervix, nasopharynx, pancreas, stomach, oral cavity, kidney, bowel, leukaemia, breast, and ovarian.

Age-standardised incidence rates of some smoking-related cancers are decreasing, and this is thanks largely to decreases in smoking prevalence; these include lung cancer (decreasing in males), oesophageal cancer (decreasing in females), and bladder cancer. However, unless there is further progress in reducing smoking prevalence, these decreases are expected to slow and eventually stop.

Tobacco is the largest preventable cause of cancer and death in the UK. and one of the largest preventable causes of illness and death in the world. Tobacco caused an estimated 75,800 deaths in the UK in 2021 - around a tenth (11%) of all deaths from all causes, that’s around one person every seven minutes. It caused an estimated 37,700 cancer deaths in the UK in 2021 - a fifth (20%) of all cancer deaths. Smoking (both active smoking and environmental tobacco smoke) causes 3 in 20 (14%) cancer cases in the UK. There were an estimated 57,600 cases of cancer caused by smoking in the UK in 2023...