A new study published in the issue of International Journal of Cancer has stated that cigarette smoking may increase the risk of cervical cancer in women.
According to foodconsumer.org, the study, by Researchers with the International Collaboration of Epidemiological Studies of Cervical Cancer, found that current smokers were 60 percent more likely to have cervical cancer than those who never smoked.In addition, researchers found that the risk of cervical cancer increased with the number of cigarettes smoked per day. Those started smoking at a younger age had a higher risk.
However, researchers could not find any association between smoking duration and risk of cervical cancer. The cervical cancer risk is only associated with the age at which people started smoking.
Researchers do not know the reason why there is no association between cervical cancer risk and smoking duration.
The current study per se suggests a possibility of such an association, but it cannot establish a cause-and-effect association between smoking and cervical cancer risk.
