1 of Every 4 Global Cancer Deaths Are Caused by Tobacco Use

Smoking cigarettes or using other types of tobacco is the largest avoidable cause of cancer deaths worldwide. In 2019 (the most current year with available data), tobacco use was responsible for about 2.6 million deaths from cancer.

These statistics are according to the 5th edition of Global Cancer Facts & Figures that used data from Global Burden of Disease, 2019 study. ACS researchers Hyuna Sung, PhD,Chenxi Jiang, MPH,Rebecca Siegel, MPH, and Ahmedin Jemal, DMV, PhD, contributed to the report.

Using tobacco leads to many more cancers than other potentially modifiable behaviors (like drinking alcohol or not exercising enough), so interventions that could help people more successfully quit smoking could have the largest worldwide positive effect.

More than 50% of all cancer deaths each year worldwide are attributable to known modifiable cancer risk factors. Tobacco use is responsible for 26% of all cancer deaths.

Tobacco use contributes to death from these 14 types of cancer in countries across the world.

• Lung cancer: Using tobacco causes almost 7 out of every 10 deaths, making it the main cause of lung cancer.
• Cancers of the voice box (larynx): Using tobacco causes more than 6 out of every 10 deaths.
• Cancer of the esophagus, throat (pharynx), and lips and mouth: Using tobacco causes almost half (43% to 47%) of deaths from these diseases.
• Liver cancer, stomach cancer, kidney cancer, and pancreatic cancer: Using tobacco causes about 2 to 3 out of every 10 deaths from each of these diseases.
• Cervical and colorectal cancer: Using tobacco causes about 1 out of every 10 deaths from each of these diseases.
• Breast cancer and prostate cancer: Using tobacco causes less than 1 out of 20 deaths from each of these cancers, but because of their prevalence, that adds up to a lot of people.

Other potentially modifiable risk factors contribute to death from cancer around the world, but none of them come close to the harm caused by cigarettes and other forms of tobacco. Unhealthy diet, excess body weight, and alcohol consumption each contribute approximately 5% to 6% of total cancer deaths Some other types of cancer linked with potentially modifiable behaviors include:

• Endometrial cancer:  About 4 out of every 10 deaths are linked with excess body weight.
• Esophageal cancer:  About 3 out of every 10 new cases are linked with drinking alcoholic beverages.

The percentage of cancer deaths attributable to smoking varies widely by region and sex, based on the extent and stage of the tobacco epidemic.

For men, the region with the highest percentage of cancer deaths caused by smoking is the Western Pacific (44%). (See the graphic at the top of the page, under the top bar, “World.” ) The Western Pacific WHO region includes about 1.9 billion people across 37 countries, which include Australia, China, Mongolia, Pacific Island countries (including the Philippines, Guam, and Figi), Vietnam, and New Zealand.

Smoking has either recently peaked or continues to increase for men in Western Pacific countries with a lower Human Development Index (HDI). Countries with a medium HDI include Cambodia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, and Solomon Islands. That means that lung cancer incidence and death rates for men will likely increase in those areas for at least the next 20 years—unless interventions to control tobacco accelerate smoking cessation or reduce initiation.

Some countries with the highest populations—like Indonesia and China—have the most men who smoke daily and the most men exposed to secondhand smoke, so the potential for a rapid rise in global lung cancer death for men is a pressing concern. 

For women, the regions with the highest cancer burden caused by smoking are Europe (37%) and the Americas (19%).

Although smoking is relatively rare among women in China, the rate of lung cancer among Chinese women is as high as that among women in the US. This is thought to reflect outdoor exposure to high levels of air pollution and indoor exposure to the burning of solid fuels used for the regions' cooking and heating, as well as exposure to secondhand smoke.