Smokers ignorant of peril

MOST smokers know their habit is damaging their lungs, heart and throats, but don’t realise the addiction increases the risk of serious health problems ranging from type 2 diabetes and leukaemia to infertility.

New research by the Cancer Council Victoria found half of Australian smokers were clueless about 13 of the 23 health conditions that are now linked to smoking.

It’s prompted calls for updated graphic warning labels on cigarettes to highlight the risk of other lethal cancers and medical conditions.

“Most people understand that smoking causes cancer of the throat and the lungs,” Dr Michelle Scollo from the Cancer Council Victoria said.

“But I think a lot of people don’t understand that 7000odd chemicals produced when you burn tobacco actually pass from the lungs into the blood stream and reach every organ.”

Dr Scollo, the acting director of the Centre for Behavioural Research in Cancer, said: “Two out of every three smokers that die prematurely, half of these die in middle age.”