Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, May 23, 1995                   TAG: 9505230090
SECTION: NATL/INTL                    PAGE: A-1   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: LOS ANGELES                                LENGTH: Medium

STUDY: SMOKERS WHO QUIT ARE STILL AT RISK

That doesn't mean it's futile to kick the habit, as Dr. Gary Strauss, the author of the analysis, pointed out.

Giving up smoking substantially reduces the risk of lung cancer. But it may take many years to see the benefits. Even then, quitters' risk is still substantially higher than that of people who never started smoking.

Smoking is responsible for nearly 90 percent of lung cancer. But because Americans are turning away from cigarettes by the millions, those being seen with the disease now are likely to be people who have already kicked the habit.

``The smoking cessation campaign has been successful. We are becoming a nation of former smokers. The question is: What can we do to reduce the risk of death in former smokers?'' Strauss said.

In a presentation at a meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, Strauss analyzed 685 lung cancer patients who were seen between 1988 and 1994 at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston.

Among the findings:

Fifty-one percent of all victims were former smokers. Forty-one percent were current smokers, and the rest had never smoked.

The former smokers being diagnosed with lung cancer had stopped smoking an average of six years. Nearly one-quarter had been off cigarettes for more than 20 years.

The former smokers in the study had averaged a pack and a half a day for 34 years before quitting.

No similar nationwide figures exist. However, Dr. Clark Heath of the American Cancer Society, said the national trend is probably similar.