LDS Men Die of Smoking-Related Cancers at 85% Below the National Rate

The Enstrom-Breslow study of 9,844 active California LDS members found a smoking-related cancer standardized mortality ratio of just 15 for active LDS men — meaning LDS men die of tobacco-linked cancers at 85% below the U.S. average.

Overall cancer mortality for the same active LDS cohort: SMR of 47 for men (53% below average) and 72 for women (28% below average). The Word of Wisdom — the LDS health code prohibiting tobacco — was written in 1833. The science establishing tobacco as carcinogenic wasn't published until the 1950s.