. If you smoke, you are increasing your chances of getting pancreatic cancer. Smokers are at least twice as likely as nonsmokers to get this disease. (1)
just the facts
Four out of five people who develop pancreatic cancer die of it within a year.
Sources 1. Fuchs CS, Colditz GA, Stampfer MJ, Giovannucci EL, Hunter DJ, Rimm EB, Willett WC, Speizer FE. A prospective study of cigarette smoking and the risk of pancreatic cancer. Archives of Internal Medicine 1996;156:2255-2260.
definition
The pancreas is a gland in your abdomen that manufactures the hormone insulin. It also manufactures chemicals that help your body to digest food.
Cancer of the pancreas is one of the deadliest types of cancer. Four out of five people who develop pancreatic cancer die of it within a year.
quitting
The good news about smoking and pancreatic cancer is that your chances of getting this disease will go down if you quit smoking. The risk of pancreatic cancer starts to decrease within two years after a person stops smoking.
