Reversal of Risk After Quitting Smoking

This 11th IARC Handbook of Cancer Prevention, and the first in a series focusing on Tobacco Control, presents a comprehensive review of the scientific literature, and a thorough evaluation, made by an international group of experts, of the evidence for changes in the risk of cancer, coronary heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, abdominal aortic aneurysm, peripheral artery disease and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease observed following smoking cessation.

Does the risk of dying from or of developing each of the above-cited diseases decrease after smoking cessation? What is the time course of the change in risk? With long durations of cessation, does the risk return to that of never-smokers? The review and evaluations presented in the Handbook answer these questions and identify relevant public health and research recommendations.