It is the radiation in cigarettes that causes lung cancer

Karagueuzian and his team replicated the calculations that tobacco company scientists described in these documents and found that the levels of radiation in cigarettes would account for up to 138 deaths for every 1,000 smokers over a period of 25 years.

Tobacco Companies Knew of Radiation in Cigarettes, Covered It Up, By CARRIE GANN, ABC News Medical Unit, Sept. 29, 2011 Tobacco companies knew that cigarettes contained a radioactive substance called polonium-210, but hid that knowledge from the public for over four decades, a new study of historical documents revealed.

Scientists from the University of California, Los Angeles, reviewed 27 previously unanalyzed documents and found that tobacco companies knew about the radioactive content of cigarettes as early as 1959. The companies studied the polonium throughout the 1960s, knew that it caused “cancerous growths” in the lungs of smokers, and even calculated how much radiation a regular smoker would ingest over 20 years. Then, they kept that data secret.

Hrayr Karagueuzian, the study’s lead author, said the companies’ level of deception surprised him. “They not only knew of the presence of polonium, but also of its potential to cause cancer,” he said.

The study published online in the journal Nicotine and Tobacco Research……

Dr. John Spangler, a professor of family medicine at the Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in North Carolina, said when smokers inhale, the radioactive particles damage the tissue on the surface of the lungs, creating “hot spots” of damage. When combined with other cancer-causing chemicals in tobacco, Spangler said the damage from radiation is potent.

Polonium’s radioactive particles don’t simply vanish when cigarette smoke blows away. Spangler said smokers may not realize how long this radiation can linger in their homes.

“Some of these radiation particles hang around for decades and decades,” Spangler said. “You’re emitting radiation when you smoke, and your family, your dog, your cat are all inhaling that radiation. How many smokers want to expose their child to radiation?”….

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/tobacco-companies-hid-evidence-radiation-cigarettes-decades/story?id=14635963