Tobacco use not only increases your risk for certain cancers, but can also make treatment less effective.

Getting back to feeling your best means making your health a priority, and quitting smoking is essential.

Tobacco increases your cancer risks

Tobacco use — including smoking and smokeless tobaccos like chewing tobacco and snuff — makes you more likely to develop cancers in your:

• Bladder
• Bone marrow
• Cervix
• Colon
• Esophagus
• Kidney
• Liver
• Lungs
• Mouth
• Pancreas
• Rectum
• Stomach
• Throat
• Voice box

Tobacco reduces the effectiveness of cancer treatments

Research shows that people who continue using tobacco during cancer treatment have less positive outcomes than those who don’t. Tobacco use lowers the amount of oxygen in parts of your body — a condition called hypoxia. This lower oxygen level can reduce the effectiveness of chemotherapy  and immunotherapy.

It can also make the side effects of cancer treatment worse and slow recovery. Tobacco use also increases the risk of developing another cancer later or recurrence of the cancer for which you’re being treated currently.