40% of cancer cases linked to bad behavior — here are the major culprits

Well, this is a drag.

Smoking is to blame for 20% of US cancer cases and nearly 30% of cancer deaths, the American Cancer Society (ACS) warns in new research.

In fact, the organization insists that 4 in 10 cancer cases and nearly half of cancer deaths in American adults 30 and older may have been prevented with a lifestyle change like stopping smoking or losing weight.

Dr. Farhad Islami, who penned the Thursday report, said he was “alarmed” that more than 169,800 Americans died in 2019 from smoking.

He is calling for tobacco control policies in each state — the ACS finds that raising the price of cigarettes through excise taxes works best — and more screening for early detection of lung cancer.

Islami, ACS’ senior scientific director of cancer disparity research, noted increases in certain obesity-related cancers, particularly among young people, while urging “interventions” to promote healthy body weights.

1.78 million cancer cases and 595,700 cancer deaths were recorded in 2019 among Americans 30 and older.

The researchers focused on 30 types of cancer to estimate how many cases and deaths were due to risky behavior, such as tobacco and alcohol use, obesity, red meat consumption, physical inactivity and UV exposure, among others.

They determined that 713,300 cases and 262,100 deaths in 2019 could have been prevented.

Smoking was responsible for the largest proportion, contributing to 56% of cancers in men, 39.9% in women and 19.3% of all cases.

Excess body weight came in second with 7.6%, followed by alcohol (5.4%), UV radiation (4.6%) and physical inactivity (3.1%).

Preventable cancers include cervical (via HPV vaccines), more than 80% of skin melanomas, anus, lung, colorectal and bladder.

The ACS findings were published Thursday in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians.

The research follows a June report from the American Heart Association that warned that 6 in 10 American adults, more than 184 million people, are expected to have some type of heart disease within the next 30 years due to increases in high blood pressure, diabetes and obesity.