Magazine : 
World Cancer Day: Do You Know What The Biggest Cause Of Cancer Is?
BENGALURU: As World Cancer Day rounds the corner that is February 4, experts find that tobacco is the single most important factor which causes cancer. The good news is that the disease can be prevented by taking simple steps like eating a healthy diet, managing obesity and proper exposure to the sun.
Vinit Talwar of the capital's Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute said while in women, cancer is caused due to over exposure to hormones, in men, the predominant factor is tobacco. "Tobacco use - smoking and chewing - is the single most important factor for cancer in men. Nearly 60-70 percent of all cancer cases in men are due to tobacco," Talwar told IANS.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), nearly 30 percent cancer deaths can be prevented by addressing the main risk factors -- tobacco use, alcohol, unhealthy diet, physical inactivity and excess body weight. Tobacco use is the single most important factor for cancer, causing 22 percent of the global 8.2 million deaths due to cancer, and 71 percent of the global lung cancer deaths.
The southeast Asian region is home to 250 million smokers and an equal number of smokeless tobacco users. In women, cancer is caused when there is early menarche and late menopause, obesity and exposure to viruses like HPV.
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