Health Watch is a public service of the Office of News and Publications and is intended to provide general information only and should not replace the advice of a medical professional. You should contact your physician if you have questions about any of these topics.

This week on Health Watch, we're talking about bladder problems. You may not think that there's a connection between smoking and the bladder, but any use of tobacco products increases your risk for bladder cancer by more than 400 percent.

Dr. Yair Lotan, a urologist at UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, says no matter how you use tobacco, the carcinogens are excreted from the body in urine. That means the lining of the bladder is exposed to the carcinogens. Because of the cumulative effect of tobacco exposure, bladder cancer can develop even years after you stop smoking. And because they aren't many symptoms, most bladder cancer isn't diagnosed until it's in later stages. The main symptom is blood in the urine. If you notice blood in the urine, you should see a doctor, especially if you've ever used tobacco.

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August 2006

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