Smoking is normally linked to an increased risk for lung cancer, but new research indicates smokers are also more likely to develop colorectal cancer. Researchers in Italy reviewed studies that looked at the relationship between smoking and colorectal cancer. They found smokers were 18 percent more likely to develop the disease, and were 25 percent more likely to die from it than those who didn't smoke. The risk for the disease went up the more a person smoked. The researchers examined data from nearly 40,000 new cases of colorectal cancer.