While on film sets, Bogart portrayed characters who smoked, drank, and picked fights with other men. Yet, in real life, it was his addiction to nicotine that caused him to develop oesophageal cancer. Tobacco smoke contains more than 7,000 chemicals, the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) points out.
“At least 70 are known to cause cancer in people or animals,” the CDC adds.
Cancer Research UK highlights that smoking “causes at least 15 different cancer types”.
The charity adds: “Both the amount you smoke, and the length of time you’ve been smoking for affect your cancer risk.
“The number of years you spend smoking affects your cancer risk most strongly. So it’s important to make a plan to stop smoking completely.”
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Oesophageal cancer describes a tumour that has developed anywhere along the food pipe, the NHS explains.
Symptoms of oesophageal cancer “might be hard to spot”, but the condition can impact a person’s digestion.
Examples include difficulty swallowing, feelings of nausea, heartburn, acid reflux, and “burping a lot”.
Other symptoms can include:
- A cough that is not getting better
- A hoarse voice
- Loss of appetite or losing weight without trying to
- Feeling tired or having no energy
- Pain in your throat or the middle of your chest, especially when swallowing.
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Sent off to the best schools at the time, Bogart was originally going to study medicine.
However, his grades failed him, so he went off to the Navy, and then went on to star in theatre and films.
Throughout Bogart’s life, his most classic works include Casablanca (1942), To Have And Have Not (1944), and The African Queen (1951).
Humphrey Bogart starred in The Caine Mutiny, which is showcasing on Wednesday, March 15, Film4+1 at 4.50pm.
