The tobacco industry argued that cigarettes causing cancer was a political opinion rather than a scientific fact in order to distract from the truth that cigarettes cause a range of deadly diseases, including blindness and amputation. These efforts allowed them to keep selling cigarettes and ignoring the serious health risks associated with smoking.
The chemical constituents of vaping are loaded with carcinogens and other harmful substances that can cross the blood-brain barrier. Using other delivery methods like tinctures, patches, or edibles can help offset the risks associated with smoking and vaping.
Obesity is now known to be a major risk factor for several types of cancer, including breast cancer and colorectal cancer, according to studies conducted since 2003. While not everyone who is obese will develop cancer, the risk is greatly increased.
Lifestyle changes such as reducing alcohol consumption, not smoking, maintaining a healthy weight, and regular exercise can lead to a 15-20% reduction in the incidence of cancer and a 20-30% reduction in mortality or extension of survival once diagnosed with cancer.
The overall survival rate of people with metastatic cancer has only improved about 5% in 50 years, with the majority of improvements coming from specific types of cancer that are sensitive to certain chemotherapies. Therefore, curing cancer, at least for the majority of types, still remains a challenge.
The speaker suggests monitoring the slow rollout of states for a few months before making any decisions. They caution against blindly jumping in, despite the "free" offer.