Accident Compensation Claims

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Asbestos Exposure and Smoking

(EMAILWIRE.COM, July 21, 2004) Woodland Hills , CA — Mesothelioma Advisor has released a new report on the synergistic effects of abestos exposure and smoking, available at http://www.mesothelioma-advisor.org/article-5.php . The article was written by Eric N. Scholnick, Attorney at Law.

The hazardous effects of cigarette smoking are well known. If you are a smoker, you have probably been told by numerous people, including family members, friends, and doctors, that it would be beneficial to your health to attempt to overcome this dangerous addiction. If you are a smoker, and have been exposed to asbestos in the past, such as in Navy service, then it is absolutely essential that you be aware that smoking and asbestos exposure work together to create a far higher risk of disease than either one creates separately. It is the purpose of this article to present information which will hopefully help persuade asbestos-exposed smokers to attempt to quit smoking.

Cigarette smoking has been strongly linked with lung cancer. Medical studies have shown that cigarette smokers have a four to eleven times greater probability of contracting lung than non-smokers. For heavy smokers, that number goes up to 27; in other words, heavy smokers stand a 27 times greater chance of getting lung cancer than non-smokers.

When you introduce the element of past asbestos exposure, the statistical probabilities go up astronomically. Asbestos exposure and smoking create a synergistic effect, leading to a 50 to 90 times greater risk of lung cancer among smokers who have a past history of asbestos exposure.

Smoking also causes chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, known as COPD. The rate of occurrence of COPD is much higher among smokers who have also been exposed to asbestos, as compared to smokers with no asbestos exposure. COPD causes the inflammation, and destruction, of small airways lung tissue, and can be completely disabling.

There is some good news to report: the damage to the lungs, and the risk of future cancer and lung disease, are greatly lowered for persons who are able to quit smoking. It is thought that the changes in the lungs caused by COPD are reversible, at least to some extent. The risk of lung cancer is greatly reduced among persons who quit smoking, to the point where, ten years after quitting smoking, the cancer risk of a former smoker who has also been exposed to asbestos is only two to six times greater than the general population, as compared to the 50 to 90 times probability discussed above.

The bottom line is this: if you have a past history of asbestos exposure, and you are still smoking, you are creating a time bomb of lung damage and cancer by continuing to smoke. No one is saying it is easy to quit the addiction of smoking, but if you are able to quit, the benefits begin immediately, and will increase as years go by. More information can be found at Mesothelioma Advisor ( http://www.mesothelioma-advisor.org/ ) The Web site contains informative articles on topics such as mesothelioma treatments, symptoms, palliative care and more.

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Reprinted from Zongoo.com Daily Press & Consumer Information

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