Laboratory studies demonstrate causation when it comes to cancer, Elizabeth Tracey reports

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Studies looking at lung cancer in people who smoked showed that those who did experienced a lot more lung cancer than those who didn’t. That’s a correlation study, says Otis Brawley, a cancer epidemiology expert at Johns Hopkins. Then came the follow up studies in the lab that proved the relationship.

Brawley: We know that there are 80 carcinogens in tobacco smoke and we can actually go into the cell and tell you what those chemicals do in the cell to cause cancer, and we have come to the conclusion that tobacco causes cancer. Those correlation studies have told us that tobacco is a risk factor for 18 different cancers. People who smoke tobacco are at greater risk for bladder cancer, leukemia, esophageal cancer, literally 18 different cancers not just lung cancer.           :33

Brawley says the distinction allows people to make rational decisions on risk. At Johns Hopkins, I’m Elizabeth Tracey.