A recent study out of Taiwan found that drinking green tea decreases the risk of lung cancer in smokers.  Researchers found that smokers who did not consume any green tea had a 13-fold higher risk for developing lung cancer compared to those who drank at least one cup per day.

Lung cancer is currently the [intlink id="740" type="post"]leading cause of cancer deaths[/intlink] in the United States.  Though breast and prostate cancers are more common, lung cancer is far more deadly.  Smokers have a 20-30 times higher risk of lung cancer compared to nonsmokers.  Tobacco contains approximately 60 known carcinogens, and is associated with several other forms of cancer as well.  Nicotine alone, however, is [intlink id="740" type="post"]not classified as a carcinogen[/intlink].

Green tea contains polyphenols and catechins, which are potent antioxidants that protect the body from the free radicals that are created by smoking tobacco.  Several previous studies that have shown green tea to a have an inhibitory effect on carcinogenesis (the formation of cancer cells), but this is one of the first to specifically look at its effect on smokers.

As encouraging as this is, obviously the most effective way to decrease the risk of lung cancer is to not smoke tobacco, or if you already do, to quit as soon as possible.  However, the World Health Organization estimates that more than 1 billion people smoke worldwide, and that tobacco use kills about 5.4 million people a year.  When smoking cessation programs have less than a 20% success rate, and when tobacco, not nicotine, is the source of the carcinogenesis, it seems to me that our efforts should focus on transitioning smokers to alternative nicotine delivery devices such as electronic cigarettes.