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Pink Pack: Smoking and breast cancer 

New research concludes that after years of studies, there is finally evidence that cigarette smoke increases the risk of breast cancer - sometimes many years after the fact.

The researchers conducted a meta-analysis that looked at various studies and thousands of patients over the years. . . .

Studies continue to show that girls are more likely to smoke than boys their age.

If you would like a Pink Pack that shows you how to do a self breast exam, click here.

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Smoking - even second-hand - increases breast cancer risk 

Young women who smoke - as well as those who are routinely exposed to second-hand smoke - face a significantly higher risk of developing breast cancer later in life, according to a new study.

"Individual women have, on average, a one-in-seven chance of developing breast cancer. If they smoke, they will increase that risk to one-in-four or one-in-five," Anthony Miller, associate director of the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto, said in an interview.

"The risk is about the same for passive smoke, particularly for a girl growing up in a house where there is a smoker," he said.

Dr. Miller is a member of an expert panel that reviewed the extensive scientific evidence on the link between smoking and breast cancer.

They produced a densely scientific, 75-page report that features a number of clear conclusions, including:

Smoking increases the risk of breast cancer in both premenopausal and postmenopausal women by 50 to 70 per cent.

(A woman's risk of breast cancer rises sharply at menopause. About 70 per cent of breast cancer cases occur after 50.)

Exposure to second-hand smoke increases the risk of breast cancer in premenopausal women by 60 to 70 per cent.

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Women deserve to be warned  

Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada (PSC) today called for health warnings on cigarette packages that communicate the risk of breast cancer from exposure to tobacco smoke. The doctors' organization is calling for these reforms in light of the report of the Canadian Expert Panel on Tobacco Smoke and Breast Cancer Risk, published yesterday by the Ontario Tobacco Research Unit.

The Expert Panel concluded that both smoking and exposure to other people's tobacco smoke increase the risk of breast cancer, and noted that "effective messaging" to ensure that the public is fully informed of these risks would be desirable.

"The most effective way of providing this information to every smoker is to make sure it is printed on every brand of cigarettes," said Dr. Atul Kapur, PSC's president. Tobacco package warnings are highly effective because they are low-cost and high reach. Package warnings are delivered to smokers on virtually every occasion that the products is used.

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Panel Sees Role for Smoking in Breast Cancer After All  

Smoking causes lung cancer and is implicated in a dozen other cancers, but scientists have generally dismissed its importance in breast cancer, saying it plays little role, if any.

Now, a Canadian panel of experts is challenging the widely held view.

In a report issued on Thursday, the panel asserted that evidence from new studies strongly suggests that smoking increases the risk of breast cancer . . .

If they are correct -- and the report makes recommendations for additional research initiatives -- they may be offering women a new piece of valuable information with practical advice about how to protect themselves from a common cancer that many fear.

The panel did not try to quantify how many excess breast cancers are caused by exposure to smoke, but the report pointed to several new studies suggesting that women who start to smoke when they are young increase their risk of breast cancer by 20 percent, and that many years of heavy smoking increase risk up to 30 percent.

The California Environmental Protection Agency came to similar conclusions in a report in 2005 that said secondhand smoke was a cause of premenopausal breast cancer for younger women who had never smoked but were exposed to environmental tobacco smoke. While the recent report from the surgeon general said there was no evidence that secondhand smoke caused breast cancer, it found that the evidence was "suggestive."

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Researchers warn of smoking-breast cancer link 

Smoking causes breast cancer. So does second-hand smoke.

Those are the conclusions of a Canadian led panel that poured over more than 100 recent studies in search of the linkages.

And while many may have assumed these findings were well established, the blue ribbon report largely puts to rest an academic uncertainty that has long perplexed cancer researchers, a panel spokesperson says.

"Up until now the expert groups who have looked at this have shied away from making a definitive conclusion," says Dr. Anthony Miller, associate director of research at the University of Toronto's Dalla Lana school of Public Health.

"The evidence is consistent with a causal relationship and in our view that's sufficient to take action and let women know about this," Miller says.

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Second-hand smoke increases risk of breast cancer in young women 

Parents who smoke are putting their daughters at increased risk of breast cancer, according to an expert panel that has unanimously agreed strong enough evidence now exists to link second-hand smoke to breast cancer.

"Even moderate exposure to passive smoking, such as living or working with a smoker early in life, increases a woman's risk of breast cancer when she is in her 30s, 40s and 50s," panellist and University of Toronto public health expert Dr. Anthony Miller says.

"That is very important information people should know."

Studies on the possible relationship between cigarette smoke and breast cancer have been inconsistent, with some showing an increase in risk and others not.

But after reviewing all available evidence — more than 100 studies — the panel concluded that all women who smoke, particularly young women, are at increased risk of breast cancer, and that even young women who don't smoke are at increased risk if they're exposed to second-hand smoke.

"An estimated 80 to 90 per cent of women have been exposed to tobacco smoke in adolescence and adulthood," says panel chairman Neil Collishaw, of Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada. "Those women face an increased risk of breast cancer because of that exposure."

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Canadian Expert Panel on Tobacco Smoke and Breast Cancer Risk (PDF) 

Conclusions

Causality

Active Smoking

Based on the weight of evidence from epidemiologic and toxicological studies and understanding of biological mechanisms, the associations between active smoking and both pre- and postmenopausal breast cancer are consistent with causality.

Secondhand Smoke

The association between SHS and breast cancer in younger, primarily premenopausal women who have never smoked is consistent with causality. The evidence is considered insufficient to pass judgement on SHS and postmenopausal breast cancer.

Attributable Risk

It would be premature at this time to estimate the magnitude of breast cancer incidence and mortality attributable to active and SHS; this could be a topic for further research.

Research Recommendations

Further research would help to better understand and quantify the tobacco-breast cancer risks, such as: carefully designed case-control and cohort studies with comprehensive measures of lifetime exposure to tobacco smoke, as well as measures of exposure at targeted periods of suspected increased susceptibility, e.g., puberty until giving birth for the first time; quantitative meta-analyses focusing on risk related to age at smoking initiation, smoking before pregnancy, and high duration/ high pack-years smoking; further research to better understand the dynamics between active and passive risk, and further study of tobacco risk related to targeted genotypes, particularly NAT2 and to the BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation.

Other Considerations

Tobacco smoke is one of the few modifiable risks for breast cancer and it impacts many women.

Young women in particular, should understand that available evidence suggests that the relationship between breast cancer and both active smoking and SHS is consistent with causality. Many young women are exposed to SHS, many continue to take up smoking at a young age, and the average age of first childbirth is older than in the past, which may extend the period of enhanced vulnerability.

The public health implications of these findings highlight the need for effective messaging.

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• ACTIVE SMOKING AND SECOND-HAND SMOKE LINKED TO BREAST CANCER 

There is now enough scientific evidence to link both active smoking and second-hand smoke to breast cancer, according to an international panel convened by the Ontario Tobacco Research Unit, an affiliate of the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, with support from the Public Health Agency of Canada.

“Until recently, evidence about the link between breast cancer and tobacco smoke, although voluminous, was inconclusive. But the Panel’s careful analysis of all available evidence, particularly recent evidence, led us to conclude that there is persuasive evidence of risk,” said Neil Collishaw, Chair of the Panel. “An estimated 80 to 90 per cent of women have been exposed to tobacco smoke in adolescence and adulthood. Those women face an increased risk of breast cancer because of that exposure.”

There have been many studies over the years on the relationship between cigarette smoke and breast cancer in women. The Panel comprehensively reviewed all available evidence, including important recent evidence, and concluded there was a risk even non-smoking young women face through passive exposure to cigarette smoke. The Panel also concluded that the relationship of active smoking to both pre- and post-menopausal breast cancer is consistent with causality, but there is not yet enough evidence to draw a conclusion about the nature of the relationship between exposure to second-hand smoke and breast cancer for older, post-menopausal women.

“It is important from a public health perspective to get the message out to the public

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Researchers warn of relationship between tobacco, breast cancer in women 

An expert panel studying tobacco smoke and breast cancer risk is warning women and especially young women to be aware of the risks of smoking and exposure to second-hand smoke.

The expert panel sifted through more than 100 studies on the topic before its report was published today by the Ontario Tobacco Research Unit, an affiliate of the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto.

Dr. Anthony Miller, associate director of research at the school, says the collective evidence is consistent with active smoking increasing the risk of breast cancer in both premenopausal and post-menopausal women.

And he says evidence suggests exposure to second-hand smoke increases the risk in younger women who haven't gone through menopause.

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Christina Applegate, what are you smoking?! You're a cancer survivor! 

Breast cancer survivor Christina Applegate was snapped puffing on a cigarette as she strolled down a Los Angeles street.

The 36-year-old "Married. . .With Children" star proclaimed herself cancer-free just last summer after undergoing a double mastectomy. . . .

Applegate also appeared at the star-studded Stand Up To Cancer telethon that raised millions to fight the disease last September.

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SHAME ON YOU, CHRISTINA 

Christina Applegate, who underwent a double mastectomy last summer because of breast cancer, sends some bad smoke signals this week in LA.

A source told "The Insider" that the 37-year-old "Samantha Who?" star "stopped smoking when she received her health news last year, but as everyone knows, it's difficult to break an addictive smoking habit."

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APPLEGATE CAUGHT SMOKING 

Actress CHRISTINA APPLEGATE has shocked fans after she was photographed smoking a cigarette just months after fighting off cancer.

The Anchorman star underwent a double mastectomy after learning she had breast cancer - and she quit smoking immediately.

But her nicotine habit has proven too strong - and Applegate was spotted smoking in Los Angeles on Wednesday (08Apr09).

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The Christina Applegate Photo Controversy at The Insider 

"Samantha Who?" star Christina Applegate was photographed smoking Wednesday in Los Angeles and now a source is telling "The Insider" the story behind the photo.

"Christina had been a smoker for quite some time," the source says. "She stopped smoking when she received her health news last year, but as everyone knows it's a difficult to break an addictive smoking habit. Considering all the stress she's had over the years, she had that occasional weak moment which has led to the occasional cigarette. We need to remember she's only human."

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EU Commission Confirms Suspicions 

Environmental air pollution is a much greater threat to the health of EU citizens than many of us are led to believe. The alleged effects of passive smoking are dwarfed in comparison to the deadly cocktails of toxins that are present within the atmosphere and workplaces of EU countries, including the UK.

In a recent letter received from the EU Commission, pro-choice group Freedom2Choose have had this suspicion confirmed by one of its members. . . .

Breast Cancer UK have already pointed out in a petition to the government that 'The EU recently recognised the environmental causes of breast cancer which must be taken into account when considering any public health approach to this disease. But other, high profile UK cancer charities continue to refute environmental and occupational exposures as a risk factor for breast cancer.'

Andy Davis continues, 'I would like to know how many more women need to die before this government and our main charities begin to acknowledge this. It also appears logical now that forcing smokers (and their non-smoking friends) into outdoor environments is putting them at a greater health risk than a room fitted with a modern filtration and ventilation system. This government, and the EU, are therefore following an agenda that is actually harmful to the health of its citizens'. . . .

Modern ventilation systems include high-efficiency particulate air filters, and are designed to capture at least 99.97% of all particles greater than or equal to 0.3�m in diameter, and are also used to capture particulate matter in the extraction, thus making the indoor air quality purer than the outdoor environment.

Inexpensive air curtains can also be used to separate smoking and non-smoking areas and they have several advantages. . . .

Freedom2Choose is now urging the government to acknowledge that the hysteria caused by tobacco control organisations, which is demonising and discriminating against smokers and businesses, is being used as a smokescreen to hide the main cause of lung and breast cancer.

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LANGLOTZ: A good reason for a cigarette tax -- and kicking the habit 

As an ex-smoker and a breast-cancer survivor, I support another cigarette tax because it might convince people to never smoke.

Puffing "cancer sticks" was the dumbest thing I ever did. After my teenage son and daughter urged me to kick my 20-year smoking habit -- "We don't want you to die, Mom" -- I finally quit. . . .

Soon afterward, I noticed a suspicious lump in my left breast. . . .

While I recovered, my article about breast cancer was published. At the end, my editor wrote that I had recently undergone a modified mastectomy, followed by immediate reconstruction. Since then, I have been smoke-free and cancer-free.

That is why I hope an additional tax on cigarettes will soon pass.

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