Considering that 2/3rds of Americans are overweight with increasingly more restrictions being placed on tobacco companies (not to mention the anti-tobacco/anti-smoking initiatives that've been around and growing for decades), I have a feeling that we'll be seeing a sharp rise in obesity-related cancer diagnoses very soon. Also, historically speaking, smoking has killed more than obesity, but take into account that obesity has only been an issue for a few decades, whereas smoking as been around for hundreds of years.  Also, the article states that being obese puts you at a greater risk of cancer than smoking, not that smoking has historically killed fewer people than obesity-related illnesses. Also, this article (http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/474966) published in 2004 states that obesity will soon surpass smoking as the leading cause of death in America. Since this came out over a decade ago, I'm thinking it's pretty safe to assume that obesity is now the #1 cause of death in America today.