Recent figures shared by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have confirmed that lung cancer has lately managed to dislodge breast cancer to take its place as the main form of cancer which leads to deaths in women.

As many as one-fourth of all cancer related deaths in women happen due to lung cancer. Also, it has been revealed lung cancer alone kills as many women as breast and gynecological cancers put together.

Lung cancer accounts for as many as 26% of all female deaths in America, and smoking has emerged as the top ranked reason for contracting this form of the disease. A whopping 80% lung cancer death are credited to smoking and studies have revealed that smokers are 10-20 times more exposed at the risk of getting lung cancer.

Blount Memorial Cancer Center Director Carmen McCloud has shared that the Center has had 86 women lung cancer patients in the last two years, and smoking had caused 90% of these cases. "Thursday is Great American Smokeout Day, which is a good time to think about giving up tobacco products. The Great American Smokeout is a day to stop smoking and change your life. On Thursday, free information on how to quit smoking will be available in the hospital's outpatient lobby between 7 a.m. and 3 p.m", she said.

Among American men and women, lung cancer is the second most common form of the disease and accounts for more death alone than breast cancer, prostate cancer and colon cancer combined. Authorities are now pushing drives aggressively to educate more and more people about the ill-effects of smoking, and helping them quit.