The Maune Raichle Law Firm

Mesothelioma Smoking

Contrary to early arguments in mesothelioma cases around the world, smoking has no effect on mesothelioma and is unable to serve as the cause of a case of mesothelioma. Although the mechanism by which mesothelioma causes the mesothelium to develop cancer is still not fully understood, it is known that smoking has no effect on the mesothelium even though it is responsible for a large percentage of lung cancer. The fact that a plaintiff may be or have been a smoker has no bearing on mesothelioma cases, but the misconception continues to exist that mesothelioma patients who smoked caused the cancer by smoking.

Part of the issue is the fact that in many contexts lung cancers that spread to the mesothelium were incorrectly referred to as mesotheliomas. Until mesothelioma was described as a cancer with a different structure than cancers of the lung, the cancer was diagnosed as mesothelioma and cases of mesothelioma were mistakenly diagnosed as lung cancer. This confusion and misdiagnosis is, in most cases, taken care of by the now customary use of protein marker testing to differentiate between the two cancers if there is a reason to doubt the initial diagnosis.

Even though smoking cannot cause mesothelioma, it can complicate treatment and cause illnesses which negatively impact the effectiveness of most treatment types. It is important, especially in the case of pleural mesothelioma, that smokers do make every effort to quit smoking when diagnosed. Lung capacity, drug interactions, and the common use of oxygen during treatment makes smoking both impractical and counterproductive while undergoing treatment.