Straight Talk from Al Jacobs

 

WHAT REALLY CAUSES LUNG CANCER

 

A single sentence in an Internet exposé recently caught my attention: “The tar in cigarette smoke has known carcinogens, so it’s reasonable a filter which reduces tar content will lower lung cancer risk.” Although my articles normally relate to the making or saving of money, I cannot resist commenting on this.

 

It’s true, of course, many substances are carcinogens (an agent causing cancer). I specifically recall when, as a chemistry prof, we were prohibited from using a commonly employed organic compound, benzene, in our labs for this reason. And it’s true the tar in a cigarette is carcinogenic, but it’s not the agent causing the most pernicious health risk of all – lung cancer. Let me tell you how it really comes about.

 

Tobacco is grown in a soil heavily treated with phosphate fertilizers, which are rich in uranium and its decay products. As a result, radioactive elements of lead and polonium become firmly attached to the tobacco leaf. When the cigarette is lighted, the ingredients vaporize, are breathed into the lungs and then solidify, coating the lungs’ surface areas. One of these radioactive elements, lead-210, thereafter emits a stream of beta particles (high speed electrons) with a half-life of 22.3 years. The result: Nearby lung tissue is bombarded for the next half century with ionizing radiation, capable of effecting a mutation of the cells – a recognized cause of cancer.

 

Consider a typical case: A person smokes a pack per day from age 16 until wising up at 39 and swearing off. During those youthful years the immune system is vigorous, so the cancerous cells formed are quickly destroyed. However, by 62 the body’s defenses no longer function as effectively as in the past. Even though the smoking ended years earlier, the radioactive lead-210 is still emitting ionizing radiation. This explains why the ex-smoker contracts lung cancer years after quitting.

 

Have you seen a smoker’s lung? It’s not pink, as is that of a nonsmoker. It’s dark brown. What you view are the previously vaporized tobacco leaves now coating the surface. And although you can’t see them, embedded amidst the tobacco are countless radioactive lead-210 atoms continuing to pump out a continuous flow of high speed electrons. You may use whatever sort of filter you wish, but as long as the smoke gets through, so do the cancer-causing beta emitters. Lung cancer is the end result.

 

 

Al Jacobs, a professional investor for nearly a half-

century, issues weekly financial articles in which he

shares his financial knowledge and experience.

You may view them on http://www.roadwaytoprosperity.com