More deaths than breast, prostate and colon cancer combined, lung cancer is underfunded and it’s the smoker’s fault.
But:
“If lung cancer unrelated to smoking was listed as a separate disease, it would be the sixth or seventh most common cause of cancer deaths.”
And:
One-tenth of men and one-fifth of women with lung cancer have never been smokers, and in some parts of the country — Northern California, for example — as many as 35 percent of women with lung cancer never smoked or lived with smokers.
And:
Smokers who develop lung cancer these days were hooked on nicotine long before it was recognized as an addictive drug and before smoking was clearly linked to cancer. “It’s a real dependence, like heroin or cocaine.”