This volume, the first in the new series "Cancer Prevention - Cancer Causes", is derived from the 1st and 2nd Reports of the Harvard Center for Cancer Prevention published in "Cancer Causes and Control", 1996; 7(Suppl 1) and 1997; 8(Suppl 2), respectively. This volume expands on materials to summarize the evidence on causes of cancer and to set forth a series of strategies to promote the prevention of cancer. "Cancer Prevention - Cancer Causes" is designed to provide a comprehensive overview of what is known about cancer risk in the United States (and other established market economies) and the preventive measures we can take to reduce the burden of cancer. The first half of this volume reviews the causes of human cancer considering a wide range of potential sources of risk such as smoking, diet, sedentary lifestyle, occupational factors, viruses, and alcohol. It concludes that cancer is indeed preventable. Over 50 percent of cancers could be prevented if what is already known about the causes of cancer could be implemented. The second half of this volume summarizes research on prevention programmes, public education campaigns, and social policy measures for preventing cancer.

Working in schools, health clinics, and workplaces as well as through the mass media and in the political arena, social scientists and health educators are designing innovative and effective health promotion programs to help people quit smoking, eat more healthily, and exercise more.