The Institute of Cancer Research, a leading authority on smoking related cancers, welcomes the ban on smoking in enclosed public places, which comes into force this Sunday, as an opportunity for the nation to lower its risk of getting the disease.

Professor David Phillips from The Institute of Cancer Research said:
"As smoking is the single biggest cause of cancer in the world, this ban marks a huge step forward in the fight against the disease.
"There is compelling evidence from countries that already have bans in place that this legislation will encourage people to give up cigarettes. The moment that people stop smoking they start to experience health benefits, so it's never too late to quit."

In the UK alone more than 40,000 people die each year of cancers which have been caused by smoking. Smoking is well known for being associated with lung cancer; in fact it causes more than 90% of cases of this disease, which kills over 33,000 people each year in the UK. Many people do not realise that smoking also causes more than a dozen other types of cancer including mouth, throat, bladder, larynx (voice box) and colon.

The risk of many types of cancers increases with the number of cigarettes smoked per day and the length of time of being a smoker. However, if people who have been smoking stop, even well into middle age, they avoid most of their subsequent risk of lung cancer.