AMMAN — Although there are over 27,000 cancer patients undergoing treatment at the King Hussein Cancer Centre (KHCC), smoking cessation could reduce this number by 25 per cent, according to experts at the centre. 

Speaking on Al Haqeeqa TV’s “Face the Truth” programme, Munther Hawarat, assistant director for Patients Affairs at the KHCC, said that 25 per cent of cancer cases in the Kingdom are “directly” caused by smoking. 

“Obesity and smoking are some of the main causes of cancer, contributing directly to almost 40 per cent of detected cases in the Kingdom,” Hawarat added. 

Smoking also indirectly contributes to the likelihood of developing cancer by reducing immunity and resilience, as well as decreasing the body’s nutrition and lowering metabolic level, he said.

Additionally, smoking accounts for 80 per cent of lung cancer cases and related deaths in Jordan, according to King Hussein Cancer Foundation’s (KHCF) Facebook page.