Final answer:
The cause of death is lung cancer, the mechanism is respiratory failure, and the manner is natural. Smoking is the leading cause of lung cancer, with exposure to tobacco smoke substantially increasing the risk of lung cancer and decreasing life expectancy.
Step-by-step explanation:
The cause of death in the scenario provided is lung cancer. The mechanism of death, how the lung cancer ultimately led to the individual’s demise, is respiratory failure. As for the manner of death, it is classified as natural due to lung cancer developing as a result of the individual’s personal behaviors and environmental exposures.
Smoking is well-documented as the leading cause of lung cancer and is identified as the single greatest cause of preventable death worldwide. Exposure to tobacco smoke, which contains carcinogens such as carbon monoxide and acrolein, leads to accumulated DNA damage in the lung tissues, resulting in the uncontrolled cell growth characteristic of lung cancer. The chemicals in cigarette smoke reduce the elasticity of alveoli, contributing to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and exacerbate chronic inflammation in the lungs.
The relationship between smoking and lung cancer is clear, with lung cancer risk increasing significantly for smokers. According to research, the risk of dying from lung cancer before age 85 is more than 20 times higher for a male smoker than for a male non-smoker. As such, regular smokers die about 10 years earlier than nonsmokers, with life expectancy further reduced by up to 18 years for long-term smokers.