Smokers with high concentrations of those chemicals in their urine have an 8.5 times higher risk of /*lung cancer*/ than other smokers.
The hope is this discovery will give some smokers more motivation to kick the habit.
Head researcher Dr. Jian-Min Yuan of the /*University of Minnesota*/, conducted the study on two groups of heavy smokers. One group already developed lung cancer, while the other group was still cancer-free.
The latest statistics from the /*U.S. Centers for Disease Control*/ show that nearly 23 percent of adult Americans still smoke, with smokers accounting for 87 percent of lung cancer cases.
Scientists say patients with markers in their urine showing a high lung cancer risk, could be targeted for more aggressive medical screening.
The problem is that medical science has not yet developed a reliable screening process to detect tumors in their very early stages.
Medical researchers say quitting smoking may be the only way to prevent lung cancer. They say the urine tests may serve as another way to convince smokers of the grim realities of lung cancer, perhaps scaring them to quit.
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