Mortality trends for selected smoking-related cancers and breast cancer--United States, 1950-1990.

During 1990, nearly 419,000 deaths (approximately 20% of all deaths) in the United States were attributed to smoking, including more than 150,000 deaths from neoplasms. Cigarette smoking remains the single most preventable cause of premature death in the United States. Based on current and past smoking patterns, the public health burden of smoking-related cancers is expected to continue during the next several decades. The death rate for smoking-related cancers varies by race; race reflects differing distributions of several risk factors for smoking-related cancers (e.g., high-risk behaviors) and is useful for identifying groups at greatest risk for smoking-related cancers. This report describes mortality trends for cancers (i.e., lung, oral cavity and pharynx, esophagus, and larynx) that are at least 70% attributable to smoking and other tobacco use (2) by race and sex. In addition, because lung cancer recently surpassed breast cancer as the leading cause of cancer deaths among women, death rates for lung cancer are compared with those for breast cancer.