We’ve reported recently that some sources are saying a meat-heavy diet is basically as bad for you as smoking.

The Physician’s Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) is making a direct, even bolder claim in its new infographic: “Meat is the New Tobacco.”

In a side-by-side comparison of the diseases meat and tobacco have been linked to, you too may see the similarities between using either product.

In light of the recent passing of World Cancer Day, PCRM is encouraging people that “cancer prevention can start in the checkout line” – meaning we should all probably steer clear of these two items that have been linked to 23 types of cancer and other awful chronic diseases.

In its accompanying article, PCRM proclaims that most of us already know smoking is terrible for your health: “Nearly everyone knows that smoking causes cancer, evidenced by the fact that you can’t light up a cigarette in schools, bars, airports, office buildings, or hospitals.”

With this comparison between tobacco and meat, PCRM hopes to show that “in order to reverse growing cancer rates, we need to focus our attention on the cancer-causing product of our generation: processed meat.”

Check out the infographic for yourself, and you may find many reasons to step away from the meat packages, too.

 Image source: Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine