<SUM TYPE="PERDOC " SIZE="100" DOCREF="WSJ880909-0170" SELECTOR="F" A study of 248,046 US veterans showed that heavy smokers (more than 21 cigarettes a day) had a 93% greater chance of developing fatal leukemia than those who never smoked. For smoking between 10 and 20 cigarettes a day the increased risk was 75%, and 31% for fewer than ten cigarettes a day. The researchers also found that men with high blood pressure were more likely to develop lung cancer if they smoked cigarettes. Leukemia is the third leading cause of death among US children and fifth overall in cancer deaths.
<SUM TYPE="PERDOC" SIZE="100" DOCREF="WSJ880909-0170" SELECTOR="F" A study of 248,046 US veterans showed that heavy smokers (more than 21 cigarettes a day) had a 93% greater chance of developing fatal leukemia than those who never smoked. For smoking between 10 and 20 cigarettes a day the increased risk was 75%, and 31% for fewer than ten cigarettes a day. The latest analysis doesn't prove a causal link, but an editorial in a British Medical Journal said that if the link is causal, "then smoking is a more important cause of leukemia than all other known causes combined." Leukemia is the third leading cause of death among US children and fifth overall in cancer deaths.